Diet Quality in Early Care and Education Centers: A Comparison of Menu, Served, and Consumed Lunch Measures

Kroeger, Elizabeth N.; Fernández, José R.; Jones, Peter A.; Bertrand, Brenda

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.007

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The finding that total HEI scores (overall diet quality) did not improve is not expected. Overall HEI scores in children in both states were relatively low (about 60 out of 100 possible points) but consistent with prior observations of children's dietary intake in ECE centers [21,[52][53][54] and family child care homes [55,56]. In these studies, consistent with our findings, children scored highest in whole fruit, total fruit, and dairy components.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Pooled results from prospective cohort studies show this relationship to reach its peak at five daily servings of fruits and vegetables [59], which is consistent with USA and European Union dietary guidelines for children [60,61]. In this study, we observed total and whole fruit component scores at or above four out of five possible points, which is consistent with prior evidence of children's fruit consumption in ECE [21,[52][53][54]56]. There is additional evidence that children consume more fruit in ECE than at home [62], which may be partially explained by the broader observation that children exhibit less picky eating behaviors in ECE versus at home [63].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…We found that HEI component scores for dairy consumption decreased among children in intervention centers. Overall, dairy HEI scores remained high (>9/10) among children in intervention and comparison states before and after policy implementation, and prior studies have similarly reported high dairy HEI component scores among children in ECE [21,[52][53][54]56]. The dairy component score…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…There is longitudinal evidence of an association between protein sources and adiposity among children ages birth to 5 years, with collective results suggesting that lean proteins, particularly vegetable proteins, may be protective against excess body weight [65,66]. Protein sources are thus an important target of healthy eating policies in ECE, in light of prior evidence that children in these settings do not consume adequate amounts of lean proteins [52,54,56]. Although lean protein consumption improved in ECE centers that implemented the policy, overall scores remained low, reaching a maximum of only 1.3 out of 5 possible points.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Healthy Eating Policy Improves Children’s Diet Quality in Early Care and Education in South Carolina

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Policies to promote healthy foods in early care and education (ECE) in the United States exist, but few have been prospectively evaluated. In South Carolina, a statewide program serving low-income children in ECE enacted new policies promoting healthy foods. We conducted an evaluation to measure changes in dietary intake among children in ECE exposed and not exposed to the new policy. Using direct observation, we assessed dietary intake in 112 children from 34 ECE centers in South Carolina and 90 children from 30 ECE centers in North Carolina (a state with no policy). We calculated Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI) scores to measure diet quality consumed before and after the policy was enacted. We fit mixed-effects linear models to estimate differences in HEI scores by state from baseline to post-policy, adjusting for child race, number of children enrolled, director education, center years in operation, participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and center profit status. The policy increased HEI scores for whole fruits, total fruits, and lean proteins, but decreased scores for dairy. Thus, the policy was associated with some enhancements in dietary intake, but additional support may help improve other components of diet.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Healthy Eating Policy Improves Children’s Diet Quality in Early Care and Education in South Carolina

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The diet quality of individual meals was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) [21,22] and Nutrient-Rich Food Index 9.3 (NRF9.3) [23,24]. These indices have been used to assess not only overall diet quality [25], but also individual meals [8,[26][27][28][29]. The usefulness of HEI-2015 and NRF9.3 has been demonstrated in the Japanese population [30].…”

Section: Calculation Of Diet Quality Scoresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Dish-Based Dietary Patterns for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner and Their Diet Quality in Japanese Adults

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We identified dish-based dietary patterns for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and assessed the diet quality of each pattern. Dietary data were obtained from 392 Japanese adults aged 20–69 years in 2013, using a 4 d dietary record. K-means cluster analysis was conducted based on the amount of each dish group, separately for breakfasts (n = 1462), lunches (n = 1504), and dinners (n = 1500). The diet quality of each dietary pattern was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) and Nutrient-Rich Food Index 9.3 (NRF9.3). The extracted dietary patterns were as follows: ‘bread-based’ and ‘rice-based’ for breakfast; ‘bread’, ‘rice-based’, ‘ramen’, ‘udon/soba’, and ‘sushi/rice bowl dishes’ for lunch; and ‘miscellaneous’, ‘meat dish and beer’, and ‘hot pot dishes’ for dinner. For breakfast, the HEI-2015 and NRF9.3 total scores were higher in the ‘rice-based’ pattern than the ‘bread-based’ pattern. For lunch, the HEI-2015 and NRF9.3 total scores were relatively high in the ‘rice-based’ pattern and low in the ‘ramen’ pattern. For dinner, the HEI-2015 total score was the highest in the ‘meat dish and beer’ pattern, and the NRF9.3 total score was higher in the ‘hot pot dishes’ than the ‘miscellaneous’ pattern. These results suggested that breakfast, lunch, and dinner have distinctive dietary patterns with different diet qualities.

show abstract

Projected Impact of Replacing Juice With Whole Fruit in Early Care and Education

Zaltz,

Weir,

Neff

et al. 2024

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Diet Quality in Early Care and Education Centers: A Comparison of Menu, Served, and Consumed Lunch Measures

Cited by 9 publications

References 23 publications

Healthy Eating Policy Improves Children’s Diet Quality in Early Care and Education in South Carolina

Healthy Eating Policy Improves Children’s Diet Quality in Early Care and Education in South Carolina

Identification of Dish-Based Dietary Patterns for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner and Their Diet Quality in Japanese Adults

Projected Impact of Replacing Juice With Whole Fruit in Early Care and Education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About