Table 5.
Mean HEI-2010 scores for NSLP lunches, expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible scores, by school poverty level.
| Low Poverty (n = 226) |
Mid-Low Poverty (n = 376) |
Mid-High Poverty (n = 330) |
High Poverty (n = 275) |
p-Value * | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adequacy Components (Higher Scores Reflect Higher Concentrations in NSLP Lunches) | |||||||||
| ∞ Total fruit | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (99.0, 100) | 100 | (98.9, 100) | 0.37 |
| ∞ Whole fruit | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 0.98 |
| Total vegetables | 79.2 | 1.8 | 81.7 | 1.5 | 84.1 | 1.5 | 83.8 | 1.9 | 0.17 |
| Greens and beans | 65.8 | 2.9 | 72.8 | 2.0 | 74.0 | 2.5 | 74.6 | 2.7 | 0.11 |
| ∞ Whole grains | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 0.19 |
| Dairy | 100 | 0.0 | 100 | 0.0 | 100 | 0.0 | 100 | 0.0 | n.a. |
| Total protein foods | 81.4 | 1.8 | 90.9 a | 0.8 | 91.0 a | 0.9 | 90.2 a | 1.1 | <0.01 |
| Seafood and plant proteins | 45.9 | 2.6 | 49.6 | 2.1 | 50.3 | 2.4 | 49.5 | 3.0 | 0.61 |
| Fatty acids | 61.3 | 2.7 | 66.9 | 1.5 | 62.8 | 1.8 | 61.3 | 2.1 | 0.06 |
| Moderation Components (Higher Scores Reflect Lower Concentrations in NSLP Lunches) | |||||||||
| ∞ Refined grains | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 100 | (100, 100) | 0.30 |
| Sodium | 31.4 | 2.2 | 26.8 | 1.8 | 26.7 | 1.7 | 29.4 | 1.9 | 0.31 |
| ∞ Empty calories | 100 | (93.2, 100) | 100 | (92.5, 100) | 100 | (92.6, 100) | 100 | (93.3, 100) | 0.98 |
| Total Score | 80.8 | 0.5 | 81.9 | 0.5 | 82.1 | 0.4 | 82.0 | 0.5 | 0.22 |
Note: HEI scores are expressed as a percentage of maximum possible scores. Estimates are means and standard errors, or medians and (interquartile ranges) where specified by ∞; * One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis for non-parametric variables; superscript letters indicate a statistically significant difference (adjusted p < 0.05). a Comparison between this group and low poverty. n.a. = given the lack of variation in the mean scores for dairy across subgroups, statistical testing was not performed. HEI-2010, Healthy Eating Index-2010; NSLP, National School Lunch Program; SE, standard error.