Nutritional Quality Of Snacks Research Articles

Nutritional quality of snacks and beverages sold through vending machines in a large Hispanic-serving urban college campus in the United States: A cross-sectional study.

Students from nutritionally-vulnerable neighborhoods face dietary challenges through built environment of college vending machines. In this cross-sectional study, snacks and beverages sold in vending machines for a 4-week period in a Bronx-based Hispanic-serving college were recorded. Nutritional information was recorded from nutrition labels. Proportion of low- and high-sodium foods, "smart snacks" with a limit of 200 kcal and 200 mg of sodium, and foods with added sugar were recorded. Snacks had significantly higher calories and sodium per serving (227 kcal, 208 mg) than beverages (132 kcal, 90 mg) (t-test, p < 0.001). Almost a third of the snacks (32%) qualified as "smart snacks" for calories and 62% qualified as "smart snacks" for sodium. Beverages contained less than half the number of ingredients as snacks. About 53% of beverages and almost 60% of snacks listed sugar among the first five ingredients. Results underscore the need for colleges to promote less-processed entities with less added sugar.

College Students' Perception of Snacks Sold in Vending Machines in the US: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Introduction: Food in vending machines in US colleges contain limited nutritious foods available for purchase, which could affect the food choices made by students leading to poor diet quality. Interventions to improve college foodscapes usually follow a top-down approach and fail to affect dietary behavioral changes ultimately. This research aims to uncover what students want and ways to achieve change.Methods: The mixed-methods approach included peer-led qualitative focus group discussions and a brief quantitative questionnaire on satisfaction from foods available in vending machines. A convenience sample of 20 students (15 females) was recruited from a Hispanic serving institution for this study.Results: Vending machines were perceived as convenient, plentiful, and unhealthy. Students expressed dissatisfaction with both the variety and nutritional quality of snacks in vending machines. Suggestions for improvement included more fresh items (fruits and vegetables) and refrigerated items with higher protein content (low-fat yogurt, hummus, and peanut butter). To implement these improvements, participants discussed the cost and feasibility of perishable items. Increasing awareness and partnering strategies were proposed to mediate potential cost and buy-in obstacles as was elevating the appeal of healthy vending machines with technological enhancements that draw customers in and educate.Conclusion and Implication for Practice: This group of college students was eager for positive changes in foods sold in vending machines and understand the major difficulties. The suggested changes may help this and other colleges develop policies to regulate the foods in vending machines to promote overall health and help prevent chronic diseases in the future.

Nutritional Assessment of Snacks and Beverages in Southeastern Virginia Daycare Centers.

This study sought to determine the nutritional quality of snacks and beverages provided at licensed daycare centers of variable sizes in Southeastern Virginia. This cross-sectional study employed self-report surveys about snack offerings administered at each daycare site that agreed to participate. In addition, researchers completed an observation survey on the day of visit to observe and document the food and beverages actually served at snack time. Although many daycare directors reported serving fresh fruit and vegetables for snacks, there was a poor correlation on the offering of these healthy snacks between researchers and directors ( P < .05). Researchers observed salty, caloric dense foods for snack time more frequently than fresh fruits and vegetables. These findings demonstrate the importance of improving and perhaps regulating the quality and diversity of snacks and beverages offered in childcare, as dietary amendments may prevent the development of childhood obesity.