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Meals offered through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) give students access to nutritious foods and have been found to make positive contributions to their diets. Consuming a healthy diet during adolescence is important to ensure that increased requirements for energy and key nutrients are met and to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. This analysis examined whether adolescent NSLP participants consumed more nutritious foods at lunch and over 24 hours than adolescents who ate lunch from home or other places. This analysis used 24-hour dietary recalls for adolescents ages 10–19 (n = 1,311) from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study. The nutritional quality of adolescents' diets was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, where higher scores indicate better conformance with the Dietary Guidelines. HEI-2010 scores for NSLP participants and nonparticipants were compared for lunch and 24-hour intakes. Lunches consumed by NSLP participants received significantly higher total HEI-2010 scores than lunches consumed by nonparticipants, and significantly higher scores for the dairy, whole grains, refined grains, and empty calories components of the HEI-2010. Over 24 hours, differences in total scores were not significant, but participants continued to receive higher scores for dairy and whole grains. Adolescents who participated in the NSLP consumed higher quality lunches than nonparticipants who consumed lunches from home or other places. However, adolescents' 24-hour diets were similar regardless of NSLP participation, suggesting that foods participants consumed the rest of the day negatively influenced the quality of their diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has shown that participation in the United States' National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is associated with consuming higher-quality lunches and diets overall, but little is known about differences by income and race/ethnicity. This analysis used 24 h dietary recall data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study to examine how NSLP participation affects the diet quality of students in different income and racial/ethnic subgroups. Diet quality at lunch and over 24 h was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, where higher scores indicate higher-quality intakes. HEI-2010 scores for NSLP participants and nonparticipants in each subgroup were estimated, and two-tailed t-tests were conducted to determine whether participant–nonparticipant differences in scores within each subgroup were statistically significant. NSLP participants' lunches received significantly higher total HEI-2010 scores than those of nonparticipants for lower-income, higher-income, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black students, suggesting that participating in the NSLP helps most students consume healthier lunches. These significantly higher total scores for participants' lunch intakes persisted over 24 h for higher-income students and non-Hispanic White students but not for lower-income students or students of other races/ethnicities. For NSLP participants in all subgroups, the nutritional quality of their 24 h intakes was much lower than at lunch, suggesting that the positive influence of the NSLP on their overall diet quality was negatively influenced by foods consumed the rest of the day (outside of lunch). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]