Table 3.
Mean differences (±se) between estimated Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations and amount of foods and beverages served and consumed among preschool-aged children attending breakfast, lunch and/or snack during childcare. Boston MA, December 2019–March 2020. (n 166 child-meals)*,†,‡
| Mean amount consumed (kJ, cups or oz) | Differences between foods and beverages consumed from recommended amounts (accounting for age/sex) | Mean amount served (kJ, cups, or oz) | Differences between foods and beverages served from recommended amounts (accounting for age/sex) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | se | Mean difference | se | P value | Mean | se | Mean difference | se | P value | |
| Breakfast (n 42) | ||||||||||
| Energy content (kJ) | 589 | 21·2 | −131·0 | 45·0 | 0·006 | 833 | 27·0 | 113·2 | 50·7 | 0·03 |
| Fruit (c) | 0·20 | 0·03 | 0·03 | 0·03 | 0·43 | 0·23 | 0·03 | 0·07 | 0·03 | 0·05 |
| Vegetable (c) | 0·00 | 0·00 | −0·19 | 0·01 | <0·0001 | 0·00 | 0·00 | −0·19 | 0·01 | <0·0001 |
| Grain (oz) | 0·57 | 0·07 | −0·002 | 0·09 | 0·97 | 0·91 | 0·09 | 0·34 | 0·10 | 0·003 |
| Whole grains (oz) | 0·24 | 0·06 | −0·04 | 0·06 | 0·53 | 0·37 | 0·08 | 0·09 | 0·08 | 0·33 |
| Refined grains (oz) | 0·32 | 0·05 | 0·04 | 0·09 | 0·66 | 0·53 | 0·07 | 0·25 | 0·11 | 0·03 |
| Dairy (c) | 0·42 | 0·05 | 0·08 | 0·05 | 0·11 | 0·52 | 0·06 | 0·18 | 0·05 | 0·0005 |
| Protein (oz) | 0·09 | 0·07 | −0·33 | 0·07 | <0·0001 | 0·20 | 0·14 | −0·22 | 0·14 | 0·13 |
| Lunch (n 73) | ||||||||||
| Energy content (kJ) | 1193 | 95·5 | −361·9 | 97·1 | 0·0004 | 1841 | 90·9 | 285 | 108·2 | 0·01 |
| Fruit (c) | 0·40 | 0·05 | 0·02 | 0·06 | 0·74 | 0·67 | 0·09 | 0·29 | 0·08 | 0·0003 |
| Vegetable (c) | 0·18 | 0·04 | −0·23 | 0·04 | <0·0001 | 0·40 | 0·05 | −0·007 | 0·04 | 0·85 |
| Grain (oz) | 2·65 | 0·31 | 1·38 | 0·33 | <0·0001 | 3·97 | 0·35 | 2·67 | 0·38 | <0·0001 |
| Whole grains (oz) | 1·08 | 0·16 | 0·44 | 0·18 | 0·02 | 1·51 | 0·22 | 0·87 | 0·22 | 0·0002 |
| Refined grains (oz) | 1·55 | 0·33 | 0·91 | 0·35 | 0·01 | 2·46 | 0·440 | 1·80 | 0·44 | <0·0001 |
| Dairy (c) | 0·24 | 0·02 | −0·46 | 0·03 | <0·0001 | 0·28 | 0·03 | −0·41 | 0·03 | <0·0001 |
| Protein (oz) | 0·98 | 0·13 | 0·01 | 0·14 | 0·96 | 1·43 | 0·13 | 0·42 | 0·16 | 0·01 |
| Snack (n 51) | ||||||||||
| Energy content (kJ) | 531 | 82·6 | −263·6 | 90·8 | 0·006 | 747·5 | 90·2 | −46·7 | 93·7 | 0·62 |
| Fruit (c) | 0·11 | 0·02 | −0·09 | 0·03 | 0·003 | 0·19 | 0·02 | −0·01 | 0·04 | 0·74 |
| Vegetable (c) | 0·00 | 0·00 | −0·20 | 0·004 | <0·0001 | 0·04 | 0·02 | −0·16 | 0·02 | <0·0001 |
| Grain (oz) | 0·57 | 0·09 | −0·09 | 0·14 | 0·53 | 0·75 | 0·09 | 0·09 | 0·14 | 0·51 |
| Whole grains (oz) | 0·10 | 0·02 | −0·23 | 0·03 | <0·0001 | 0·13 | 0·02 | −0·20 | 0·03 | <0·0001 |
| Refined grains (oz) | 0·47 | 0·07 | 0·14 | 0·14 | 0·33 | 0·62 | 0·08 | 0·29 | 0·15 | 0·06 |
| Dairy (c) | 0·09 | 0·01 | −0·26 | 0·02 | <0·0001 | 0·12 | 0·01 | −0·23 | 0·02 | <0·0001 |
| Protein (oz) | 0·18 | 0·05 | −0·33 | 0·07 | <0·0001 | 0·28 | 0·06 | −0·23 | 0·07 | 0·003 |
Median Dietary Guideline recommendations for moderately active female children age 3 years old consuming breakfast, lunch and snack during childcare are as follows: 702 kcal, 0·6 cups fruit, 0·9 cups vegetables, 2·3 oz grain (1·2 oz each whole grains and refined grains), 1·5 c dairy, 1·8 oz protein. For all values used to determine if children are meeting Dietary Guidelines recommendations by age and sex, see online supplementary material, Supplemental Appendix 2.
Ten children (7·7 %) did not report their ages, thus we applied the DGA standards for the median age in our sample (3 years old).
Added sugars were within the recommended limits of < 10 % of total energy content at all meals.