Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115455

Andrea L. Graves¹, Sonya J. Jones², Sonia Hardin, RN³, Betsy Haughton, EdD, RD⁴, and Marsha Spence, MS-MPH, RD². (1) Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, 1215 W. Cumberland Ave., Rm 229, Knoxville, TN 37916, 865-974-2109, agraves4@utk.edu, (2) Nutrition, University of Tennessee, 1215 Cumberland Ave, Room 229, Department of Nutrition, Knoxville, TN 37966-1920, (3) Coordinated School Health Program, Monroe County Schools, 205 Oak Grove Road, Madisonville, TN 37354, (4) Nutrition, The University of Tennessee, 1215 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-1900

Currently, one third of children in the United States are at risk or overweight, And one-half of the children in Appalachian East Tennessee are at risk or overweight. Eating breakfast is widely recommended as a healthy eating strategy that may reduce the risk of excess weight gain. Ten percent of children nationally consume breakfast at school where the meal may contain excess energy and fat. However, very little is known about how school breakfasts compare to breakfasts consumed by children at home and elsewhere. Using baseline data from an intervention study targeting 4th and 5th grade students in one East Tennessee county, Youth Can!, differences between lunch and school breakfasts were compared for 256 children that completed a 24-hour dietary recall with a trained NDS-R interviewer and weighed and measured by the Coordinated School Health Program. Children consuming breakfast at home or elsewhere (grandmother's, for example) consumed significantly more food, (difference = 94g), more energy (difference = 95 kcal), and more fiber (difference = 0.5 g) than children that consumed breakfast at school. Among overweight children, these differences were more pronounced with overweight children consuming breakfast at home or elsewhere consuming 146g, 159 kcals 0.7 g more fiber and 0.03% more calories from saturated fat than overweight children consuming breakfast at school. As schools develop wellness policies and revise their menus, emphasis should be placed on the relationship between the home and school food environments.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to describe the relationship among child overweight and breakfast location.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.