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Dairy Council Digest Archives
Creating a Healthy School Environment for Children
A Healthy School Environment: Identifying Challenges
The total environment created by schools influences children's food choices and their physical activity (3). Despite their recognized nutritional and academic benefits, school meal programs are underutilized (1,5,7). Over the past two decades, school enrollment has increased 6.8%, whereas participation in school meals has declined1.2% (7). Approximately 60% of all students in public schools offering the NSLP participate in the program (7). Participation is lower in high schools (37%) than in elementary schools (67%) (7). Also, fewer children participate in the SBP (7.8 million in FY 2001) than in the NSLP (27.5 million in FY 2001) (25).
Students' increased access to options other than NSLP and SBP meals discourages participation in these programs (7,41). These options include purchasing foods on an a la carte basis in school cafeterias or from school vending machines, school stores, or snack bars (1,7). Approximately 43% of elementary schools, 74% of middle/junior high schools, and 98% of senior high schools either have a vending machine or a school store, canteen, or snack bar (1). More than two-thirds (71%) of schools allow students to buy food and beverages from these venues during the lunch period (1). In addition, 68% of schools allow students to purchase soft drinks, sports drinks, or fruit drinks that are not100% juice during the lunch period, which directly competes with milk consumption (1).
Many of the foods sold in competition with school meals are low in nutrient density and high in fat, added sugars, and calories (1,7,42). Although federal regulations prohibit the sale of "foods of minimal nutritional value" (i.e., carbonated soft drinks, chewing gum, water ices, and certain candies made primarily from sweeteners) in the foodservice area during school meal periods, these foods may be sold outside the cafeteria at any time (7). Federal regulations cannot restrict the sale of other foods of low nutritional value (e.g., chips, most candy bars) at any time during the school day anywhere in the school, including school foodservice areas (7). The availability of competitive foods can jeopardize the ability of both the NSLP and SBP to meet their goals, compromise students' nutrient intake, contribute to diet-related health risks, contradict health and nutrition messages taught in the classroom, and add to the stigma associated with participating in school meal programs (6,7,41-47).
Students' food preferences (e.g., for fast foods, sweetened beverages, salty snacks) and schools' increasing financial constraints and limited resources drive schools to provide students with less nutritious options than offered through school meal programs (7). For example, the potential for added revenue that schools can spend on activities unrelated to school foodservice contributes to the recent trend of exclusive "pouring rights" contracts between school districts and soft drink companies and schools' promotion of soft drink consumption by adding vending machines and marketing these beverages to students (7,48).
Many of the foods sold in competition with school meals are low in nutrient density and high in fat, added sugars, and calories (1,7,42). Although federal regulations prohibit the sale of "foods of minimal nutritional value" (i.e., carbonated soft drinks, chewing gum, water ices, and certain candies made primarily from sweeteners) in the foodservice area during school meal periods, these foods may be sold outside the cafeteria at any time (7). Federal regulations cannot restrict the sale of other foods of low nutritional value (e.g., chips, most candy bars) at any time during the school day anywhere in the school, including school foodservice areas (7). The availability of competitive foods can jeopardize the ability of both the NSLP and SBP to meet their goals, compromise students' nutrient intake, contribute to diet-related health risks, contradict health and nutrition messages taught in the classroom, and add to the stigma associated with participating in school meal programs (6,7,41-47).
Students' food preferences (e.g., for fast foods, sweetened beverages, salty snacks) and schools' increasing financial constraints and limited resources drive schools to provide students with less nutritious options than offered through school meal programs (7). For example, the potential for added revenue that schools can spend on activities unrelated to school foodservice contributes to the recent trend of exclusive "pouring rights" contracts between school districts and soft drink companies and schools' promotion of soft drink consumption by adding vending machines and marketing these beverages to students (7,48).
Government, health, and educational organizations are taking actions to create an overall school environment that provides consistent learning experiences for children to develop healthy lifestyle habits.
The increased availability of soft drinks in schools coincides with decreased intake of more nutritious choices such as milk (49,50). Excessive intake of soft drinks not only increases risk of nutritional shortfalls but also is associated with bone fractures, dental caries and enamel erosion, and overweight (13,49,51-56). Displacement of milk with soft drinks is held responsible for soft drinks' adverse effect on bones (54).
Recognition of the potential health consequences of excess consumption of soft drinks is leading to efforts to limit children's access to these beverages in schools and encourage milk consumption (18). In its recent report to Congress on competitive foods, USDA proposed that school meal regulations be revised to ensure that all foods sold or served in schools meet nutrition standards and that revenues from all competitive foods throughout the school be added to the school foodservice account (7).
A relatively new approach to increase students' milk and nutrient intake is to provide in-school milk vending machines (57). Findings from a 5-month milk vending study in middle and high schools in five major U.S. markets demonstrated students' strong interest in vended milk (57). Each vending machine in the study offered at least three flavored milks in a variety of fat levels in16-ounce resealable plastic containers. Chocolate milk was particularly well liked. This finding is of significance given recent observations that children who consumed flavored milk had higher calcium intakes without increasing their proportion of calories from total fat and added sugars compared to children who were non-consumers of flavored milk (58).
Students may be missing out on the benefits of school meals because of limitations imposed by the cafeteria environment (1,6,7). Failure of schools to allow students sufficient time to eat, to schedule meals at reasonable times (i.e., not too early or too late, or not in conjunction with competing activities such as club meetings), and to provide adequate cafeteria space can lead students to choose less nutritious foods from school vending machines and snack bars instead of school meals (7). There is evidence that scheduling recess before lunch instead of after lunch reduces plate waste and increases the benefits that elementary school children receive from the NSLP (59,60).
Improving the quality of students' dietary intake in the school setting is clearly challenging, yet critically important. For many children, meals and snacks consumed at school make a major contribution to the total day's consumption of food and nutrients.
Schools also face challenges related to providing students with regular opportunities for physical activity (1,4,23). As a result of academic priorities, competing extracurricular activities, and limited resources, school-based physical activity has steadily declined over the years (3,23). A recent report by the Surgeon General calls for quality daily physical activity for all school children, from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, daily recess periods for elementary school children, and extracurricular physical activity programs (4). Healthy People 2010 goals include increasing the proportion of schools that require daily physical education for all students and for increasing the time students spend being physically active in school physical education classes (3).
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