K A S H R U T . C O M_©

Kids' BMIs Dropped After Federal School Lunch Overhaul

February 13, 2023 from The MedPage today:

"School-age kids' body mass index (BMI) z-scores fell following the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), researchers reported.

"Compared with the decade prior to the HHFKA being put into place, there was a significant decrease in annual BMI z-scores among U.S. youth from the ages of 5 to 18 (-0.041, 95% CI -0.066 to -0.016) in the 3.5 years after the law passed, according to Aruna Chandran, MD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues.

"A significant decline in BMI was apparent for both younger children ages 5 to 11 (-0.034, 95% CI -0.059 to -0.009) as well as teens ages 12 to 18 (-0.045, 95% CI -0.071 to -0.018), the researchers wrote in JAMA Pediatricsopens in a new tab or window.

"The shift also held for both lower and higher income households, those with a median annual income below $50,000 (-0.038, 95% CI -0.063 to -0.013) and at or above that threshold (-0.041, 95% CI -0.066 to -0.016). "This income cutoff roughly aligns with the income eligibility for free and reduced-price meals in the 2016 to 2017 school year," the researchers pointed out.

"Both males (-0.037, 95% CI -0.062 to -0.012) and females (-0.046, 95% CI -0.070 to -0.020) also saw significant BMI drops between the pre- and postintervention periods.

"The HHFKA -- "the first national legislation to improve the dietary quality of school meals and snacks in over 2 decades," according to Chandran's group -- applied to food sold on site at school, from breakfasts and lunches to snacks in vending machines. It required food for sale at schools to fall in line with 2010 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, which recommended food include more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products with less sodium and fat. It also established age-specific recommendations for school meal serving sizes.

"This study really "underscores the important impact of the [National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast] on reducing excess weight gain among lower-income children, who are unquestionably among the most vulnerable for food insecurity, obesity, and obesity-related chronic diseases.

"mplemented in phases, the HHFKA first started to roll out into schools during the 2012 to 2013 school year after Congress passed it in 2010. By the 2015 to 2016 school year, 93% of school districts were in compliance, according to a USDA reportopens in a new tab or window. The time periods compared in the study were January 2005 to August 2016, before implementation, and afterward from September 2016 to March 2020."

New rules would limit sugar in school meals for first time

February 9, 2023 from The AP News:

"U.S. agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries.

"The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly decrease sodium in the meals served to the nation’s schoolkids by 2029, while making the rules for foods made with whole grains more flexible.

"The goal is to improve nutrition and align with U.S. dietary guidelines in the program that serves breakfast to more than 15 million children and lunch to nearly 30 million children every day

"The first limits on added sugars would be required in the 2025-2026 school year, starting with high-sugar foods such as sweetened cereals, yogurts and flavored milks.

"Under the plan, for instance, an 8-ounce container of chocolate milk could contain no more than 10 grams of sugar. Some popular flavored milks now contain twice that amount. The plan also limits sugary grain desserts, such as muffins or doughnuts, to no more than twice a week at breakfast.

"By the fall of 2027, added sugars in school meals would be limited to less than 10% of the total calories per week for breakfasts and lunches.

"The proposal also would reduce sodium in school meals by 30% by the fall of 2029. They would gradually be reduced to align with federal guidelines, which recommend Americans aged 14 and older limit sodium to about 2,300 milligrams a day, with less for younger children.