Abstract
Children who attend child care outside the home may be at increased risk for developing
obesity. In 2012, the South Carolina ABC Child Care program issued new standards for
food and nutrition. The goal of our study (conducted June to December 2012) was to
examine changes that occurred at a large, Columbia, SC, preschool during the implementation
of the South Carolina ABC Child Care program standards using an observational design,
including a survey of parents and nutrient analysis of menus. The nutrition content
of menu items before (n=15 days; six of which were vegetarian) and after (n=15 days;
six of which were vegetarian) implementation of the new standards was compared. In
addition, parents (N=75) were surveyed to examine opinions and support for the changes.
Independent samples t tests were used to compare nutrient values before and after menu changes and analysis
of variance was used to compare pre- and post-change vegetarian menus and pre- and
post-change nonvegetarian menus. There were no significant differences between before
and after menus with the exception of a 0.3 cup/day increase in vegetables (P<0.05). Vegetarian menus after the revisions were significantly higher in fiber (13±3
g) than postrevision nonvegetarian menus (11±3 g; P<0.05) and lower in sodium (1,068±207 mg) than postrevision nonvegetarian menus (1,656±488
mg; P<0.05). Standards that received the most parental support were serving at least two
vegetables (score of 8.7 on a scale of one to nine) and two fruits per day (score
of 8.6) and implementing policies against staff using food as a reward or punishment
(score of 8.6). The center-specific policy of only bringing healthy foods for celebrations
received the lowest support (score of 5.8). Adding more vegetarian menu items has
the potential to improve the nutrient content of menus while keeping energy intake,
saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol levels at a more optimum level.
Keywords
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Biography
G. M. Turner-McGrievy is an assistant professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Biography
S. B. Hales is a licensed master social worker and a graduate research assistant, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Biography
A. C. Baum is an assistant professor of early childhood education, Department of Instruction and Teacher Education, College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 19, 2013
Accepted:
July 14,
2013
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT There is no funding to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
