Students not getting balanced diet

A report recently released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' Division of Nutritional Health and Services shows alarming statistics concerning the nutrition of Missouri's youth.

The Dietary Intake Summary Report indicates that 22.7 percent of Missouri's youth between the ages of 9 and 18 are overweight.

In addition, the report indicates that most youth do not consume the number of servings from the food groups recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid.

The report summarizes data collected on the dietary intake of 14,194 school-aged youth ranging from 9 to 18 years of age who attended schools participating in the Missouri School-Age Children's Health Services Program during the 2000-2001 school year. Height and weight measurements were taken to calculate each student's body mass index, which subsequently was used to determine the nutritional status of the student populations.

The highest percentages of female and male students aged 11-14 meeting the recommended number of servings per day according to the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid was found in the milk group. The report shows at least half met the recommended number of servings of milk per day. The percentages were the lowest in the bread and cereal group, with only 3 percent of both male and female students aged 11-14 meeting the recommended servings.

It should be noted that the greatest number of servings consumed was in sweets and fats.

"This information will enable the division to provide better guidance to schools and communities on improving nutrition education supporting healthy lifestyles and in the future will help decrease such diseases associated with being overweight," said Gretchen C. Wartman, director of the Division of Nutritional Health and Services.