Food consumption and quality of diets of Kansas elementary students.

Better knowledge of the eating patterns of children would allow nutritionists to target nutrition information more effectively. Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were collected from 1,242 elementary students to investigate their eating patterns. Foods consumed were classified into categories on the basis of similar composition. Dietary quality was assessed by calculating mean adequacy ratios. Grain products, high-protein foods, vegetables, and milk products were included in the diets of almost all students. Sugary products were consumed by almost 90%, 20% drank non-sugary beverages, and fats and oils were included by 80%. Also, 80% consumed fruits and juices. Consumption of milk and milk products was the most important estimator of dietary quality, followed by vegetables, mixed protein dishes, nutrient supplements, fruits, high-protein foods and grain products. When nutrient supplements were excluded, fruit and grain products became more important predictors. Non-sugary beverages adversely affected the quality of children's intakes. Students with dietary quality indexes between 90 and 100 consumed milk and vegetables more frequently than those with indexes of less than 66, who drank non-sugary beverages more often. Dietary quality varied in direct proportion to level of energy intake, suggesting that nutrition education should emphasize intake of nutrient-dense foods.