Impact of a Nutrition-Related Community Intervention on the Quantity and Quality of Children’s School <i>almuerzo</i>

• Main Authors: Jenny Vilchis-Gil, Miguel Klünder-Klünder, Ximena Duque, Gloria Martínez-Andrade, Andrea Martínez-Almaráz, Brenda Beristain-Lujano, Samuel Flores-Huerta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Life
• Subjects: child; school <i>almuerzo</i>; early intervention; prevention; obesity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/3/253

Foods and beverages that schoolchildren carry in their lunchboxes have high energy values but lack plain water, fresh fruits and vegetables. A nutrition-related community intervention on the quantity and quality of school <i>almuerzo</i> was performed, in which four primary schools participated, as part of two groups: 225 children in the intervention group (IG) and 177 children in the control group (CG). The parents from the IG had access to a website where they could consult information on eating habits and physical activity or school <i>almuerzo</i> menus. They were sent weekly text messages on their mobile phones and attended in-person sessions. Anthropometric measurements and surveys were performed in both groups at the start of the study, as well as after 6 and 12 months. The school <i>almuerzo</i> was assessed by recording foods that the children brought in their lunchboxes. At baseline, 88% of children brought a school <i>almuerzo</i>, 37% fruit, 17% vegetables, 40% plain water and 50% sweet drinks. In both groups, 50% of children brought a school <i>almuerzo</i> with an energy value above the recommended value (>340 kcal) during follow-up; however, the percentage of children who brought sweet drinks decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05), with sweet drinks contributing between 26% and 33% of the calories in the school <i>almuerzo</i>. In the IG, the quantity in milliliters of plain water increased at the end of the follow-up period (<i>p</i> = 0.044). From the point of view of food-and-beverage quantity and quality, school <i>almuerzo</i> were unhealthy for both groups. The intervention failed to increase the frequency with which parents provided children with school <i>almuerzo</i> or enhance the quality of the latter.