Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program: Impact on Dietary Consumption Patterns in Elementary School Students

Diet, Food, and Nutrition Clinical Trial

Official title:

Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program: Impact on Dietary Consumption Patterns in Elementary School Students

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05605483
• Other study ID #: HM20012226
• Status: Completed
• Start date: February 13, 2019
• Est. completion date: April 26, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: July 2023
• Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

This project is a research study looking at what foods students choose and eat during school lunch and examines how salad bars impact what children eat.

Description:

This project applies a wait list control cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate school salad bars. This project uses digital images (pictures) of labeled trays in the cafeteria before and after children eat lunch. This project also asks cafeteria workers about their thoughts about salad bars and their experiences with the salad bar program.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 6269
• Est. completion date: April 26, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: April 26, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 5 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Students: All K-6th grade students at target schools who participate in the school lunch program on rating day

• Cafeteria staff: All cafeteria personnel at the randomly selected target schools will be eligible to complete surveys

Exclusion Criteria:

• Students: Unsure sex of child

• Cafeteria staff: None

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Diet, Food, and Nutrition

Intervention

Other:
• Salad bar
Schools where the school district has installed salad bars
• Waitlisted control
Schools where the school district has not yet installed salad bars
• Salad bar post-COVID
Schools where the school distract has re-opened salad bars will have methods repeated in a subset of schools post-COVID-19

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Healthy Lifestyles Center at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU	Henrico	Virginia

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Virginia Commonwealth University	George Mason University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	fruits and vegetables (FV) selection	Amount of FV selection will be calculated based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before consumption	Baseline to up to 6 weeks after salad bars installed
Primary	FV consumption	Amount of FV consumed will be calculated by subtracting amount of FV remaining after lunch is consumed from amount of FV selected based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before and after consumption.	Baseline to up to 6 weeks after salad bars installed
Secondary	energy intake (kcal)	Amount of calories consumed will be calculated by subtracting the total amount of calories remaining on trays from the total amount of calories initially selected based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before and after consumption.	Baseline to up to 6 weeks after salad bars installed
Secondary	dietary quality (Healthy Eating Index)	the Healthy Eating Index will be calculated for food and beverages consumed at lunch (amount on the tray before minus after consumption) using NDSR	Baseline to up to 6 weeks after salad bars installed
Secondary	fruits and vegetables (FV) selection post-COVID-19	To examine the the impact of salad bars on student dietary intake patterns after their reintroduction post-COVID-19 school closures. Amount of FV selection will be calculated based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before consumption	4-6 weeks after salad bars re-installed
Secondary	FV consumption post-COVID-19	To examine the the impact of salad bars on student dietary intake patterns after their reintroduction post-COVID-19 school closures. Amount of FV consumed will be calculated by subtracting amount of FV remaining after lunch is consumed from amount of FV selected based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before and after consumption.	4-6 weeks after salad bars re-installed
Secondary	energy intake (kcal) post-COVID-19	To examine the the impact of salad bars on student dietary intake patterns after their reintroduction post-COVID-19 school closures. Amount of calories consumed will be calculated by subtracting the total amount of calories remaining on trays from the total amount of calories initially selected based on digital photographs of student's lunch trays before and after consumption.	4-6 weeks after salad bars re-installed
Secondary	dietary quality (Healthy Eating Index) post-COVID-19	To examine the the impact of salad bars on student dietary intake patterns after their reintroduction post-COVID-19 school closures. The Healthy Eating Index will be calculated for food and beverages consumed at lunch (amount on the tray before minus after consumption) using NDSR	4-6 weeks after salad bars re-installed