Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Sep;6(3):329-38.
doi: 10.1007/s13142-015-0342-z.

Intervention leads to improvements in the nutrient profile of snacks served in afterschool programs: a group randomized controlled trial

Michael W Beets  1 , Brie Turner-McGrievy  2 , R Glenn Weaver  2 , Jennifer Huberty  3 , Justin B Moore  2 , Dianne S Ward  4 , Darcy A Freedman  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Intervention leads to improvements in the nutrient profile of snacks served in afterschool programs: a group randomized controlled trial

Michael W Beets et al. Transl Behav Med. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Widely adopted nutrition policies for afterschool programs (ASPs) focus on serving a fruit/vegetable daily and eliminating sugar-sweetened foods/beverages. The impact of these policies on the nutrient profile of snacks served is unclear. Evaluate changes in macro/micronutrient content of snacks served in ASPs. A 1-year group randomized controlled trial was conducted in 20 ASPs serving over 1700 elementary-age children. Intervention ASPs received a multistep adaptive framework intervention. Direct observation of snack served was collected and nutrient information determined using the USDA Nutrient Database, standardized to nutrients/100 kcal. By post-assessment, intervention ASPs reduced total kcal/snack served by 66 kcal (95CI -114 to -19 kcal) compared to control ASPs. Total fiber (+1.7 g/100 kcal), protein (+1.4 g/100 kcal), polyunsaturated fat (+1.2 g/100 kcal), phosphorous (+49.0 mg/100 kcal), potassium (+201.8 mg/100 kcal), and vitamin K (+21.5 μg/100 kcal) increased in intervention ASPs, while added sugars decreased (-5.0 g/100 kcal). Nutrition policies can lead to modest daily caloric reductions and improve select macro/micronutrients in snacks served. Long-term, these nutritional changes may contribute to healthy dietary habits.

Keywords: Children; Community-based programs; Dips; Food; Fruits; Nutrition; Obesity; Policy; School; Standards; Vegetables.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. National Afterschool Association . The NAA standards for quality school-age care. Washington, D.C.: National Afterschool Association; 2008.
    1. National Afterschool Association. Standards for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Out-Of-School Time Programs 2011 [cited 2011 December 2]. Available from: http://naaweb.org/resources/item/56-healthy-eating.
    1. Peterson E. First lady announces two new commitments to healthy eating and physical activity afterschool: Afterschool Alliance; 2014 [cited 2014 March 1]. Available from: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/afterschoolsnack/printPage.cfm?idBlog...; http://ahealthieramerica.org/media/news-releases/#5482,news.
    1. Wiecha JL, Gannett L, Hall G, Roth BA. National Afterschool Association Standards for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Out-Of-School Time Programs Wellesley, MA2011 [cited 2011 August 8]. Available from: Available at: www.niost.org.
    1. Wiecha JL, Hall G, Gannett E, et al. Development of healthy eating and physical activity quality standards for out-of-school time programs. Child Obes. 2012;8(6):572–6. doi: 10.1089/chi.2012.0030. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types