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Exploring Nutrition News Spring 2009
2009-10 Fuel Up to Play 60 Wellness Activation Kit Available 
National Dairy Council® and the National Football League have huddled up to offer the NEW 2009-10 FREE Fuel Up to Play 60 Wellness Activation Kit. The program inspires and empowers kids to "fuel up" with nutritious foods and "get up and play" for 60 minutes a day. Make sure your school is on board for receiving this exciting program designed for the entire school community that includes colorful display materials and wellness-based activities, ideas and tips for engaging the entire school community in the program.
Each school receives one Fuel Up to Play 60 kit, but everyone who enrolls receives free eNewsletters. So encourage your colleagues to enroll, too. Enroll now!
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Parents Identify Compelling Breakfast Messages
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) recently conducted focus groups with consumers, including parents, to test messages to improve perceptions and increase consumption of breakfast. The top three messages that resonated with parents of children ages 12 and younger include:
- Breakfast is Fuel for School - Running on empty can leave kids and adults feeling fatigued and out-of-sorts.
- Breakfast Boosts Brain Power - Eating breakfast helps children do better in school by improving alertness, concentration, problem-solving ability, test scores, attendance and mood.
- Breakfast Builds Better Bodies - Kids and adults who eat breakfast get more fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C, riboflavin, zinc and iron than breakfast skippers.
The results of these focus groups are useful to educators, school nutrition professionals and administrators in encouraging parents to make sure their children eat breakfast every day.
Source: MyPyramid Breakfast and Health Communications Program, Consumer Messaging Testing Research, 2008. Learn more.
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School Meals Linked to Healthier Diets
The findings from the Third School Nutrition and Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III) were recently published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The results support previous research showing that children who eat school meals have higher intakes of milk, fruits and vegetables throughout the day than children who do not.
School meal participants also consume fewer calories from sugar-sweetened beverages and do not experience any negative effects on their body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight compared to height.
Source: The School Food Environment, Children's Diets, and Obesity: Finding from the Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Survey. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2009; 109:2. Learn more about SNDA-III.
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New Resources Available on Dairy's Role in Child Nutrition
A new white paper provides a summary of the child nutrition environment and the most current research and insights on dairy's role in child nutrition, including in government-funded feeding programs. According to a recent report by ENVIRON, now more than ever, students are choosing low-fat or fat-free milk at school — approximately three-quarters of students are enjoying these nutrient-rich offerings! Read the joint statement regarding the report from National Dairy Council® and the School Nutrition Association.
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Cereal for Breakfast: An Overall Healthy Choice
Eating cereal for breakfast may have a positive effect on children's and teens' nutrient intake and overall health according to a recent study conducted in girls. Researchers analyzed food diaries for close to 2,300 girls who entered the 10-year National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study at age 9 or 10. The researchers found that cereal breakfasts:
- Provided more fiber, iron, folic acid and zinc, and less fat, sugar, sodium and cholesterol compared to non-cereal breakfasts.
- Increased the girls' milk consumption. When girls had cereal at breakfast, they consumed significantly more calcium than when they ate a non-cereal breakfast.
- Were associated with increased intake of fiber and carbohydrates, and decreased intake of fat across the entire day, including breakfast and non-breakfast times.
- Girls who ate cereal for breakfast on one or three days also had significantly more physical activity than girls who did not eat cereal for breakfast.
The authors note that eating cereal for breakfast may be a marker for a healthy lifestyle.
Albertson AM, et al. Nutrition Research, 2008; 28: 744-752.
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New Study Links Dairy Foods to Leaner Kids
A new Journal of the American College of Nutrition study found that adolescent girls and boys who consumed closer to the recommended three servings of dairy per day had lower Body Mass Index (BMI) and less body fat than adolescents with lower daily dairy consumption. The study included more than 10,000 children and adolescents participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. In both surveys, a low dairy intake among 12-16 year-olds — less than a serving a day for girls and a two for boys — was associated with a higher BMI and greater body fat. The results were similar when total calcium intake was compared to body fat for the same age range. However, there was no consistent relationship between dairy and calcium intake, and body fat for younger children, ages 5-11.
Moore LL, et al. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2008; 27:702-710.
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