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Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify key drivers of students' breakfast habits, including eating breakfast at home or at school, to inform strategies that school nutrition professionals might use to increase participation in School Breakfast Programs (SBPs). Methods: A convenience sample of students in grades 1-12 from two public school districts in Connecticut participated in focus groups. Each of the 13 focus groups included students from two or three grade levels and was facilitated by a lead moderator and note-taker. Recorded discussions were transcribed with students' comments coded to identify common themes. Within each theme, the grade levels of participants were identified to determine whether the theme represented comments by elementary school (grades 1-6), middle school (grades 7-8), and/or high school (grades 9-12) participants. Results: A total of 105 students (57% female, 43% male) participated. Across all grade levels, hunger, or a desire to avoid its adverse effects (e.g., grumpiness, headache), was identified as a consistently mentioned reason for eating breakfast. Other reasons included parental influence (elementary students), desire to improve energy (elementary students), and desire to improve school performance (elementary and middle school students). Breakfast skipping was often reported by middle and high school students, who cited inadequate time and lack of hunger as reasons. Across all grade levels, reasons for not participating in the SBP included distaste for, distrust of, and/or cost of school foods. Inconvenience of eating at school and perception of school foods as unhealthy or "junk" were cited by elementary and middle school students. Suggestions to improve school breakfast included more choices (all grades), improved freshness or quality of foods (all grades), and healthier options (elementary and middle school students). Application to Child Nutrition Professionals: Emphasizing food quality and increasing convenience of school breakfast may help to increase SBP participation.

Objective: School-based nutrition education can promote the development of skills, such as food label reading, that can contribute to making healthier food choices. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of a Russian language version of the previously validated Food Label Literacy for Applied Nutrition Knowledge (FLLANK) questionnaire and also to evaluate the impact of school-based nutrition education programmes on nutrition knowledge and food label-reading skills in Russian adolescents and young adults. Methods: Two nutrition education study programmes were administered to two separate groups of students--at a middle school (n?=?23) and a university (n?=?17). The study programmes consisted of a single 2-hour classroom session and emphasised basic nutrition and food components. The FLLANK questionnaire was administered to both groups of students before and after the intervention to assess change in food label-reading skills. Cronbach's a was calculated for the post-test scores to assess the instrument's internal consistency. Results: Middle school students increased their mean FLLANK scores from 54% to 95% (p?<0.01). University students increased their scores from 46% to 91% (p?<0.01). In the school group only, there was an interaction between time and gender, with boys improving significantly more than girls (p?

Purpose: To compare two intensity levels (standard vs. enhanced) of a nutrition and physical activity intervention vs. a control (usual programs) on nutrition knowledge, body mass index, fitness, academic performance, behavior, and medication use among elementary school students.Design: Quasi-experimental with three arms.Setting: Elementary schools, students' homes, and a supermarket.Subjects: A total of 1487 third-grade students.Intervention: The standard intervention (SI) provided daily physical activity in classrooms and a program on making healthful foods, using food labels. The enhanced intervention (EI) provided these plus additional components for students and their families.Measures: Body mass index (zBMI), food label literacy, physical fitness, academic performance, behavior, and medication use for asthma or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Analysis: Multivariable generalized linear model and logistic regression to assess change in outcome measures.Results: Both the SI and EI groups gained less weight than the control (p < .001), but zBMI did not differ between groups (p = 1.00). There were no apparent effects on physical fitness or academic performance. Both intervention groups improved significantly but similarly in food label literacy (p = .36). Asthma medication use was reduced significantly in the SI group, and nonsignificantly (p = .10) in the EI group. Use of ADHD medication remained unchanged (p = .34).Conclusion: The standard intervention may improve food label literacy and reduce asthma medication use in elementary school children, but an enhanced version provides no further benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the effects of nut-based snack bars (NBSB) vs. prepackaged 200-kcal portions of typical conventional snack foods, when consumed over a 12-week period by a group of overweight adults.Design: Randomized, single-blind parallel design with two treatment groups.Setting: Clinical Trial: Subjects: Thirty-four overweight participants were enrolled.Intervention: Commercially available NBSB or conventional snack foods as part of an ad libitum diet for 12 weeks.Measures: Primary Outcome Measures: body mass index, body weight, body composition, waist circumference.Secondary Outcome Measures: blood pressure, lipid profile, nutrients intake, hunger/satiety, quality of life.Analysis: Generalized linear models with time as repeated measure were used to analyze these data.Results: Daily consumption of NBSB for 12 weeks, as compared to daily consumption of conventional snacks, significantly reduced percentage body fat (-1.7% ± 10.8% vs. 6.2% ± 9.3%; p = .04) and visceral fat (-1.3 ± 5.9 vs. 2.7 ± 4.0; p = .03). There were no between-group differences (p > .05) for blood pressure, lipid panel, satiety, or quality of life measures.Conclusion: Our data suggest that daily consumption of NBSB for 12 weeks reduced body fat and had no adverse effects on weight, blood pressure, lipid profile, satiety, or quality of life in this small sample of overweight adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]