Nutritional patterns of pre-adolescents participating in a summer food service program

Abstract

This study examined the nutritional patterns of 26 preadolescents (7-10 years of age) who participated in a summer food service program and determined whether the program met one-third of their daily nutrient intake. Visual plate waste and 24-hour dietary recalls were taken on five days at three ethnically different sites. Food consumed at lunch provided more than one-third of total intake for all nutrients studied, with the exception of carbohydrate intake in girls, and carbohydrate, iron and thiamine intake in boys. Average amount of food consumed at lunch by participants exceeded one-third of the RDA for all nutrients except Kcalories and iron. Additionally, mean total Kcalories consumed over a 24-hour period by participants met only 66 percent of the RDA.