title: Restricting snacks in U.S. elementary schools is associated with higher frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption.
abstract: Efforts are needed to improve U.S. children's poor diet quality. Our purpose was to examine whether a policy that restricts the availability of snack foods in the schools is associated with greater fruit and vegetable consumption in a nationally representative sample of 5th grade children. Children in schools with restricted snack availability had significantly higher frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption than children in schools without restricted snack availability. Our findings suggest that a restrictive snack policy should be part of a multi-faceted approach to improve children's diet quality.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities and Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Sonya J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Frongillo
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014675:Vegetables