Changes in Diet Quality of American School-Aged Children Before and After the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act Ryan Smith February 27th, 2018
What is the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act?
Controversy Reports of food waste and decreased participation in the school lunch program Inconclusive results from studies as to whether children are reaping the benefits of the new lunches
My Research Questions Do children who participate in the school lunch program have higher diet qualities under the new NSLP standards? Are the changes in diet quality different based on how frequently a child consumes school lunches?
Methods NHANES 2009-10 (pre-) and 2013-2014 (post-) Unadjusted and adjusted multivariate linear regression models Outcomes of interest: HEI-2015 score and HHFKA sub- score (continuous) Predictor variables: Frequency of NSLP participation and survey year (categorical) Cross products to test for interaction Covariates considered: age, gender, household income, race/ethnicity, and highest level of education attained by head of household (all categorical) Methods
Findings Table 2. Change in HEI-2015 scores between 2009-10 and 2013-14 within NSLP participation levels Model Unadjusted Adjusted Change in HEI-2015 total score 95% CI NSLP participation Non-participant (0/week) -0.045 (-4.240, 4.150) 0.231 (-4.149, 4.612) Occasional (1-3/week) -2.074 (-5.341, 1.193) -2.272 (-5.861, 1.316) Frequent (4-5/week) 2.162 (0.242, 4.083) * 2.026 (0.278, 3.774) * Change in HHFKA sub-score Total population 1.024 (0.250, 1.799)* 1.030 (0.391, 1.670)* * p-value < 0.05
Discussion Association found in this study provides preliminary evidence that the new NSLP meals are more nutritious than their predecessors. Children appear to be eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains!
Limitations & Future Exploration Single 24-hr dietary recall Secular trends Level of detail in NHANES data Future research needed to continue monitoring trends
Questions/Comments Special thanks to: Dr. Barbara Laraia Dr. Kris Madsen Dr. Maureen Lahiff Lilly Nhan Erika Brown NPI PHN cohort Image Sources: Slide 1: https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp Slide 2: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson Slide 4: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Asking-Great-Data-Science-Questions/477451-2.html Slide 7:https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/images/School-lunch-date-2016.jpg Slide 8: Paul Rogers. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/well/feeding-young-minds-the-importance-of-school-lunches.html Slide 9: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/human-head-open-color-question-marks-139259579