Attention, parents: Those sack lunches may need an overhaul
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It’s long been assumed that sack lunches brought from home are generally nutritionally superior to the ones served at schools and day-care facilities. Parents always pack such healthful foods as fresh fruits and vegetables, right?
That may not be the case, according to a new study that examined what was in some of those bag lunches and found many came up short. In the study, researchers examined made-at-home lunches of 74 children ages 3 to 5 who attended licensed child-care facilities in Texas. They made note of what was in the children’s lunches over three days, and the information was analyzed to determine the calorie content, how many contained fruits and vegetables, plus the protein, carbohydrate and dietary fiber content and vitamin and mineral makeup. These amounts were analyzed using Dietary Reference Intakes, nutrient reference values used in calculating and planning diets, and Child and Adult Care Food Program standards.
More than 50% of the lunches provided less than 33% of the DRI for calories, carbohydrates, vitamin A, calcium, iron and zinc, and 96% had less than 33% of the DRI for fiber. The meals fell short on fruits and vegetables, too: 71% did not meet CACFP standards for fruit and vegetable servings. The lunches weren’t lacking in sodium, however — those levels were 114% of the DRI.
Parents were asked to complete a survey about food shopping habits, food preferences and other food-related subjects; 55% admitted that their kids sometimes got less than three to five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, and ate too much junk food, consisting of chips, soda, candy and desserts. And though all parents said they believed that lunch was a good opportunity for loading their kids up with nutrients, 63% said their child’s food preferences usually dictated what they made for lunch.The study appears in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Assn.
The study authors wrote, ‘When parents do not consistently pack a nutritious sack lunch they miss an opportunity to teach and reinforce good dietary habits to their children. ... Nutrition professionals should work with child-care providers and parents to provide safe, nutritious food choices that meet children’s physical needs as well as teach healthful dietary habits.’
And if this is has you thinking about your own lunches, or what you pack for your kids, check out the Food section’s look at the noon meal: Grown-up lunches that pack a punch. As writer Amy Scattergood notes: ‘Thinking outside the lunch box is probably the best way of getting anything good inside it.’
-- Jeannine Stein