School lunch: a comparison of the fat and cholesterol content with dietary guidelines.

Abstract

To compare the fat and cholesterol content of the foods offered and selected in an elementary school lunch program with current dietary guidelines. For 105 school days we recorded the food items selected by elementary school students in an entire school district (262,851 meals) who were given a choice between two entrees. The nutrient content of foods was assessed with a computerized nutrient data base supplemented by the food manufacturers' data. Sixteen elementary schools in the Bellevue (Washington) School District. The number of students eating school lunch averaged 2500 per day, of whom 25% were from households with incomes less than 185% of poverty. None. We determined the nutritional content of the average meal selected; the proportion of days when one of the two offered entrees met fat and cholesterol guidelines; and the proportion of children selecting the entrees that met the guidelines. The average lunch selected had 35.9% of calories from total fat and 12.6% from saturated fat, exceeding the guidelines of 30% and 10%, respectively. Lunch contained an average of 57 mg cholesterol (106 mg/1000 kcal) and met guidelines. One of the two daily entree choices met guidelines for both total fat and saturated fat on 20% of days, and met both fat and cholesterol guidelines on 14% of days. When available, entrees meeting the fat guidelines were chosen by 37% of students, and entrees meeting both fat and cholesterol guidelines were chosen by 34% of students. In this school district the average lunch selected did not meet the current guidelines for dietary fat; when given the choice, more than one third of students selected the entrees that met these guidelines.