August

August 2001: Highlights from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Below are summaries of several nutrition research articles published in the August 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. For more information, to receive a copy of a JADA article or this issue's table of contents, or to interview an article's author(s), please call Bridget McManamon (800) 877-1600, ext. 4769; or e-mail bmcmana@eatright.org.

Kids plus restaurants can equal calories

With 27 percent of meals and snacks eaten away from home, the restaurant industry is expanding to meet demand with an annual growth rate of seven percent. With that in mind, researchers from the University of California, San Diego wondered how restaurant dining affected children's diets. They evaluated 367 children (ages seven to 11) and 435 adolescents (ages 12 to 17) to reveal children's consumption of calories, their nutrient intake and percent of calories from nutrients based on where the food was eaten. They found that 31 percent of energy came from fat and 11 percent came from saturated fat - slightly higher than current dietary recommendations. They also found that more than half the children's and adolescents' meals were eaten at home and restaurant meals accounted for six percent. However, caloric intake from restaurant meals was 55 percent higher than the average caloric intake of foods consumed at home. Researchers suggest that nutrition education and intervention programs should place special emphasis on encouraging more healthful food choices when eating outside the home.

College students can eat healthfully

How to convince always-on-the-go college students to make healthier snack selections? Sometimes a sign needs to be right under their noses. Researchers from the University of Toronto evaluated the usage of "point-of-purchase" (POP) signs in college cafeterias. The signs were targeted toward healthful food items and emphasized some benefits of the food - cost, convenience, taste and energy. Researchers measured daily sales of the targeted food items, which included fruits, vegetables, pretzels and yogurt. Results showed that sales increased for these items. Students' responses to the intervention messages were positive, especially when the targeted foods were priced comparably to less healthful foods. Researchers suggest using "POP interventions" in cafeterias to increase healthful snack consumption.