The impact of nutrition standards on competitive food offerings and purchasing behaviors of high school students.
BACKGROUND
With adolescent obesity rates on the rise, the school food environment is receiving closer scrutiny. This study looks at the effects of nutrient standards as part of a wellness policy that was implemented in 3 public high schools in 1 county, by analyzing the nutritional value of competitive food offerings and purchases before and after the development of the standards.


METHODS
All food offerings and purchases were labeled based on their nutritional density using a stoplight approach of green, yellow, and red colors for the pre- and post- period. The stoplight approach to ranking foods is on a continuum of nutrient density, with green foods being the healthiest choices and red foods offering minimal nutrient density.


RESULTS
Results showed that after the implementation of the standards, red foods made up 30% of offerings, down from 48% of offerings prior to the existence of the guidelines. The proportion of red food purchases also decreased, from 83% to 47%. Additionally, yellow food offerings increased from 18% to 48% and purchases increased from 6% to 34%.


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that the nutrient standards as part of the wellness policy contributed to a positive shift in the nutritional value of competitive food purchases and offerings.
School of Education, Teaching, and Health, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. ssnelli@american.edu
Anastasia M
AM
Snelling
Teha
T
Kennard
D000293:Adolescent; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D014481:United States