J Am Diet Assoc
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Changes to school food environments and practices that lead to improved dietary behavior are a powerful strategy to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. ⋯ To improve children's diet and reduce obesity continued changes to school food environments and practices are essential. Removing sugar-sweetened beverages from school food stores and snack bars, improving à la carte choices, and reducing the frequency of offering french fries merit testing as strategies to reduce energy from low-nutrient, energy-dense foods at school.
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Good nutrition is essential to healthy childhood. Because the school meal programs--the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program--are so widely available, they are in a unique position to influence the nutritional quality of children's diets. ⋯ School meal programs play an important role in the nutritional adequacy of children's diets. However, the association between program participation and excessive sodium intakes, along with the high prevalence of excessive saturated fat intakes among all students, suggest areas for improvement in the meals these programs provide.