A Plate Waste Evaluation of the Farm to School Program.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impacts of the Farm to School (FTS) Program on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. DESIGN: Plate waste data were recorded using the visual inspection method before and after implementation of the program. SETTING: Six elementary schools in Florida: 3 treatment and 3 control schools. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11,262 meal observations of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants in grades 1-5. INTERVENTION: The FTS Program, specifically local procurement of NSLP offerings, began in treatment schools in November, 2015 after the researchers collected preintervention data. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The NSLP participants' selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and proportions tests and difference-in-difference regressions. RESULTS: The NSLP participants at the treatment schools consumed, on average, 0.061 (P = .002) more servings of vegetables and 0.055 (P = .05) more servings of fruit after implementation of the FTS Program. When school-level fixed effects are included, ordinary least squares and tobit regression results indicated that NSLP participants at the treatment schools respectively consumed 0.107 (P < .001) and 0.086 (P < .001) more servings of vegetables, on average, after implementation of the FTS Program. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Local procurement positively affected healthy eating.

Adults in all body mass index categories underestimate daily energy requirements.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference between self-reported and calculated daily energy requirements of adults within different body mass index (BMI) categories. METHODS: Adults (n = 978) self-reported daily energy requirements, demographic information, and height, weight, age, and physical activity level (PAL) to calculate total energy expenditure. RESULTS: The main effects of BMI, gender, PAL, and dieting status on the difference between self-reported and calculated energy requirements for weight maintenance were significant (P < .05); age, race/ethnicity, level of education, and being in a health-related field had no effect. Individuals across all BMI categories underestimated their energy requirements, but obese individuals underestimated to the greatest degree. Males, current dieters, and those who reported a low-active or active PAL underestimated to the greatest extent in each category. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: There is a lack of basic nutrition knowledge about personal energy needs in individuals across all BMI categories regardless of age, race/ethnicity, level of education, or work/training in a health-related field.