State laws governing school meals and disparities in fruit/vegetable intake.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Home access to fruits/vegetables (FV) is a consistent predictor of adolescent FV intake, but many adolescents face barriers to home access.

Purpose

To determine if state laws that require FV in school meals are positively associated with FV intake, particularly among students with limited home access to FV.

Methods

Student data on home food access and FV intake were obtained from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (n=9574) and linked to state laws regarding FV requirements for school meals. All data were collected in 2010. Ordinary least-squares models were utilized in 2012 to estimate differences in intake between states with different FV laws, overall and by whether students had access to various foods at home (FV, unhealthy snacks).

SUBMITTER: Taber DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3664760 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature