Fat and sugar levels are high in snacks purchased from student stores in middle schools
2000
Wildey, M.B. | Pampalone, S.Z. | Pelletier, R.L. | Zive, M.M. | Elder, J.P. | Sallis, J.F.
Objective: Children consume about one third of their daily energy at school, mostly from cafeteria food and bag lunches. Students also shop at student-run stores that generate revenue for extracurricular activities; yet the nutritional value of snacks sold at student stores has not been documented to our knowledge. Design: Cross-sectional study of foods sold at student stores in middle schools. Subjects/setting: Twenty-four San Diego County (Calif) public middle schools, grades 6 through 8 (age 11 to 13), from 9 school districts. The schools represent a diversity of ethnic groups and socioeconomic levels. Statistical analyses performed: Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlations, analysis of variance. Results: Snacks averaged 8.7 g fat and 23.0 g sugar. Overall, 88.5% of store inventory was high in fat and/or high in sugar. Sugar candy accounted for one third of store sales. Chocolate candy was highest in fat content: 15.7 g. Fourteen of the 24 schools had stores that sold food and were run by student organizations. Stores were open daily for about 90 minutes; half sold food during lunch. Conclusions: Adolescents need opportunities to supplement main meals; however, student stores in middle schools sell primarily high-fat, high-sugar snacks. Key intervention possibilities include limiting sales of chocolate candy and substituting low-fat varieties of cakes, cookies, chips, and crackers. Competition with cafeterias for sales at lunchtime should be addressed.
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