| With children consuming between 19 and 50% of their total dietary calories at school and the rise in childhood obesity, there is an increased recognition that schools can have a significant impact on the nutritional quality of food that children consume at school and reduce childhood obesity. In 2006, all school boards in Prince Edward Island (PEI) adopted school nutrition policies (SNP) for elementary schools. There has been limited evaluation of SNP in Canada, and none have evaluated the potential impact on the quality of children's lunches. This study 1) assessed changes in the nutritional quality of children's school lunches from early policy implementation (2007) to four years after policy implementation (2010) among Grade 5 and Grade 6 students and 2) assessed the relationship between the school nutrition policy adherence and length of implementation on the dietary quality of children's lunchtime food intakes.;Lunchtime intakes of PEI Grade 5/6 students were collected using a cross-sectional in-class survey in 2007 (n=1980) and in 2010 (n=1642). This data was used to assess changes in lunchtime nutrient intakes from 2007 to 2010. General linear modeling analysis was used to examine the association between the level of SNP policy adherence and length of implementation on the dietary quality of lunchtime nutrient intakes, including school lunch participation, sex, grade, parental education/income, and school location as covariates.;The median nutrient density of fat, calcium, magnesium, zinc, niacin, thiamin, and vitamin A content of the student lunchtime intakes increased in 2010 when compared to 2007. Conversely several median nutrient density intakes decreased in 2010, including vitamin C, potassium and folate. Length of implementation and "moderate" to "good" (26-75%) adherence to the SNP was found to be positively associated with several nutrients (carbohydrates, potassium, sodium, magnesium, fiber, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron and folate). Students attending schools who followed the SNP more closely were less likely to purchase lunch at school, suggesting that it is important to consider student acceptability of foods offered.;This study provides evidence that school nutrition policies can have a modest but positive impact on the overall dietary quality of elementary school children. Further research is needed to examine the role of the stringency of the school nutrition policies on student level outcome and the role of parents in providing healthy lunches. |
