(P22-054-24) Impact of Dairy Consumption in School Meals on Nutrient Intakes and Diet Quality

Objectives: To determine the impact of dairy consumption in school meals on nutrient intakes among children age 5-18 years who participated in school breakfast or school lunch programs using the 2003 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES).

Methods: Day 1 24-h dietary recall data from children age 5-18 years participating in NHANES 2003-2018 (N = 19,482 after exclusions) were used. Nutrient intake was determined using the NHANES cycle specific Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. School meal consumers were defined as those who reported intake of breakfast or lunch from a school cafeteria. Sample-weighted analyses were performed using SAS 9.4. Significant differences between School meal consumers and non-consumers were assessed at P< 0.05.

Results: Only about 24% of children reported having meals in a school cafeteria during 2003-2018 and were considered as consumers of school meals. Nearly 70% of these were consumers of reduced-price school meals. School meals contributed to 55% daily intake of dairy and 57% daily intake of milk among consumers. School meal consumers consumed 52% more dairy and 63% more milk than non-consumers. School meal consumers had higher intakes of calcium (+13%), fiber (+6%), iodine (+7%), phosphorus (+7%), potassium (+9%), riboflavin (+6%), and vitamin D (+27%) but lower intakes of added sugar (-13%) and fat (-3%), than non-consumers. Dairy contributed about 40% vitamin D, 25% calcium, 23% iodine, 19% riboflavin, 17% vitamin B12, 17% phosphorus, 15% potassium, 14% choline, 11% magnesium, 11% protein and 11% saturated fat to their respective total daily intakes among school meal consumers.

Conclusions: These results provide data on the nutrient contribution of dairy foods in school meals and the importance of these meals to total daily intake in those reporting breakfast/lunch from a school cafeteria.

Funding Sources: National Dairy Council