School lunches as a diabetic risk factor in mestizo children

Abstract

More than 90 percent of individuals diagnosed yearly with diabetes are diagnosed with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (National Diabetes Clearing House, 1994). By the year 2000, it is estimated that over 250,000 Native American and mestizo people in Arizona will be diagnosed with NIDDM and will provide a health care tax burden of over 320 million dollars a year (Nabhan, 1990). The purpose of this study was to analyze selected nutritional components of school lunch menus to identify childhood nutritional risk factors, which contribute to the development ofNIDDM in adulthood for members of the mestizo population. The Food Processor® Nutrition Analysis Software menu analysis program (ESHA Research, 1995) was used to obtain percentages of total fat, saturated fat, and carbohydrates in school lunch menus being offered to mestizo children in Southern Arizona in 1991 and 1996. A descriptive comparative analysis of the data showed that percentages of selected macronutrients in 1991 were more ideal than percentages of those same macronutrients in 1996 after the recommendations from change in school nutrition were made by the findings of the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study. However, a comparison of selected macronutrients in 1991 and 1996 did not support a significant difference between the two sample groups.