Research: current researchChildren’s meal patterns have changed over a 21-year period: the Bogalusa heart study
Section snippets
Population
Children attending the fifth grade (age 10 years) in the Bogalusa, LA, school system were targeted for study during each of seven cross-sectional surveys from 1973 to 1994. Sample sizes and mean age of children by ethnicity (white and African American), gender, and survey year are shown in Table 1. Varying proportions of children were randomly selected for dietary interview during each cross-sectional survey: 1973–1974 (year 1), 50%; 1976–1977 (year 4), 50%; 1978–1979 (year 6), 75%; 1981–1982
Meal patterns
From 1973 to 1979, no school breakfast program was offered in the Bogalusa elementary schools. During that time, the percentage of children consuming a home breakfast significantly decreased from 86% (1973–1974) to 68% (1978–1979) (P<.05) (Figure 1). This decrease was significant for males (P<.001), females (P<.01), whites (P<.001), and African Americans (P<.001). Concomitant with this trend, there was a dramatic increase in the percentage of children skipping breakfast from 8% (1973–1974) to
Discussion
Dietary intakes of children have changed in the past three decades 42, 43, 44, 45. Specific to the 10-year-olds in Bogalusa, the percentage of energy from fat decreased and the percentage from protein and carbohydrate increased (42). Despite the shift toward a healthier diet, total energy intake remained the same (42), or in some cases increased (43). These nutrient intake trends among children are counterintuitive to what one would expect with the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity 46,
Conclusions
Meal patterns have been implicated in obesity, nutrient utilization, and a number of physiologic changes. The majority of the studies related to meal patterns and physiologic outcomes has been conducted with adults. Additional studies are needed to document meal patterns of children and the associations with childhood obesity.
Children’s meal patterns have changed much over a 2-decade period. Consumption of school lunch and snacks decreased and the number of dinners consumed outside the home
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Evolution of Cardiovascular Risk with Normal Aging, National Institute on Aging (AG16592) and the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Cooperative Agreement No. 43-3AEM-0-80071. Partial support was received from the Kellogg’s Company, MARS, Inc, and the Sugar Association. This work is a product of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS), Children’s
T. A. Nicklas is a professor of pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX.
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Cited by (0)
T. A. Nicklas is a professor of pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX.
S.-J. Yang is a statistician, Baylor College of Medicine, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX.
T. Baranowski is a professor of pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX.
M. Morales is a statistical analyst, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, TX.
A. Linares is a resident at Brooklyn Hospital, Brooklyn, NY; at the time of the study, she was a graduate student at the University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston.
C. de Moor is an assistant professor at the University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston.
G. Berenson is a professor, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Center of Cardiovascular Health, New Orleans, LA.