Fostering healthy food consumption in schools: Focusing on the challenges of competitive foods

摘要

School-based intervention programs may help to instill healthy food consumption practices that reduce dietrelated risks of chronic diseases later in life. However, the current school environment presents many nutritional challenges. School lunch andbreakfast programs must meet specific standards for certain nutrients; however, food sold in addition to the reimbursable school meals do not have to meet such criteria. Therefore, competitive foods sold in a la carte sections of the cafeteria, school stores, and vending machines that may be high in calories, total fat, saturated fat, added sugars, cholesterol, and/or sodium present a major challenge. Included in this paper are some suggestions to foster healthy food consumption practices in school settings that are in line with current guidelines.