Smart Snacking at School

20 March 2008

Providing a variety of healthy food items and limiting portion size at the school snack bar may help children make better food choices. A new study has shown that when healthier options are offered, children may change their unhealthful habits, which may ultimately improve their health and influence future eating patterns.

Many people have become aware that too often school snack bars and vending machines are filled with high-fat, high-sugar offerings such as potato chips, cookies, candy, and soft drinks. The goal of this study was to offer healthier food choices in the school snack bar in order to improve children's nutrition. The following changes were made at six middle school snack bars in three states over a six-week period:

• Serving size for regular chips was limited to less than 1.5 ounces.

• Lower-fat chip offerings were increased by 25%.

• Bottled water in a 20-ounce size was offered.

• Serving size for all sweetened beverages was limited to less than 12 ounces.

• Fruits and vegetables were offered.

When these changes were made, the children drank more water and less sweetened beverages and ate more protein. Fruits and vegetables purchases were very low and there were no changes in fat intake.

Some factors may have limited the program's benefits for the children, and would be important to study in long-term, future research. For example, the children did not have counseling or education about making healthy choices, and snacks brought from home were not monitored. There were also no restrictions on portion sizes of desserts.

“Schools should have wellness policies that address the foods and beverages available in their schools,” said Karen Weber Cullen, DrPH, RD, associate professor of Pediatrics-Nutrition Children's Nutrition Research Center Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. “Children will select healthy food items if available.”

Tips for packing school snacks

• Ask children about what healthy foods they enjoy and pack some of their favorites.

• Emphasize fruits and veggies; try those that come in handy sizes, like baby carrots and grapes, or those that can easily be cut up in fun shapes, like apples and jicama.

• Limit high-fat, high-sugar snacks by choosing lower fat options and by limiting portion size.

• Instead of giving children a whole bag of regular potato chips, choose lower-fat chips and/or take out a serving and put it in a smaller bag.

• Encourage children to drink plenty of water and offer alternatives to high-sugar beverages such as spritzers made from unsweetened juices and carbonated water.

When children are educated about food choices they are often willing to make changes. A little education at home and a few new choices in the snack bar at school can go a long way toward promoting a child's health.

(J Am Diet Assoc 2008;108:140-4)

Jane Hart, MD, board-certified in internal medicine, serves in a variety of professional roles including consultant, journalist, and educator. Dr. Hart, a Clinical Instructor at Case Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio, writes extensively about health and wellness and a variety of other topics for nationally recognized organizations, Web sites, and print publications. Sought out for her expertise in the areas of integrative and preventive medicine, she is frequently quoted by national and local media. Dr. Hart is a professional lecturer for healthcare professionals, consumers, and youth and is a regular corporate speaker.