Hyper-palatable foods in elementary school lunches: Availability and contributing factors in a national sample of US public schools.

ABSTRACT:

Background

School cafeterias are a major point of influence for child nutrition. United States federal legislation requires the presence of important nutrients in school meals. However, legislation overlooks the potential presence of hyper-palatable foods in school lunches, a hypothesized factor that may influence children's eating behavior and obesity risk. The study sought to 1) quantify the prevalence of hyper-palatable foods (HPF) served in US elementary school lunches; and 2) determine whether food hyper-palatability varied based on school geographic region (East/Central/West), urbanicity (urban/micropolitan/rural), or meal item (entrée/side/fruit or vegetable).

Methods

Lunch menu data (N = 18 menus; N = 1160 total foods) were collected from a sample of six states that

SUBMITTER: Dilsaver D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9934344 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature