Nutrition guidelines in Kansas elementary schools

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Authors
Heins, Jordan
Sawyers, Erin
Spradlin, Megan
Advisors
Wallace, Michelle
Issue Date
2017-04-28
Type
Abstract
Keywords
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Heins, Jorda, Sawyers, Erin and Spradlin, Megan. 2017. Nutrition guidelines in Kansas elementary schools--In Proceedings: 13th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p.76
Abstract

Childhood obesity is a nation-wide epidemic and is strongly linked to nutrition. Although the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) guidelines are designed to regulate students' caloric intake and nutritional needs, ambiguous snack guidelines may be counteracting NSLP efforts. Our study assessed components of school lunches and snack guidelines in public elementary schools across Kansas. A data collection tool was developed to evaluate these items. Data was collected from public information on school websites. Schools were qualitatively evaluated and compared based on size and socioeconomic status as defined in the study. Results show that Kansas public elementary schools are following the NSLP guidelines, however snack guidelines vary greatly. There is no identifiable pattern in snack guidelines among the researched schools. A set of new national or state snack guidelines could help establish basic nutrition knowledge and encourage healthy eating in schools to combat the complex epidemic of childhood obesity.

Table of Contents
Description
Presented to the 13th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Rhatigan Student Center, Wichita State University, April 28, 2017.
Research completed in the Department of Physician Assistant, College of Health Professions
Publisher
Wichita State University
Journal
Book Title
Series
GRASP
v. 13
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
EISSN