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Community and International Nutrition

Restricting Snacks in U.S. Elementary Schools Is Associated with Higher Frequency of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption^1,2

Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities and Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208

Efforts are needed to improve U.S. children's poor diet quality. Our purpose was to examine whether a policy that restricts the availability of snack foods in the schools is associated with greater fruit and vegetable consumption in a nationally representative sample of 5th grade children. Children in schools with restricted snack availability had significantly higher frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption than children in schools without restricted snack availability. Our findings suggest that a restrictive snack policy should be part of a multi-faceted approach to improve children's diet quality.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: efrongillo{at}sc.edu.

Manuscript received 10 September 2008. Initial review completed 6 October 2008. Revision accepted 21 October 2008.

Published online 3 December 2008.