Consumption of less nutritious foods like sugar-sweetened beverages, salty snacks and candies was relatively higher during school hours among children.
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‘Children consumed one-third of their total daily calories during school hours, but intake of dairy products was lower compared to the rest of the school day.’
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According to the research published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, children consumed approximately one-third of their total daily calories during school hours, but intake of dairy products and key nutrients found in milk -- calcium and vitamin D, for example -- was lower during school hours compared to the rest of the school day. Meanwhile, intake of less nutritious foods like sugar-sweetened beverages, salty snacks and candies was relatively higher during school hours. 
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Researchers examined data from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey involving 4,827 children across Canada between the ages of six and 17. Respondents provided information about the food and beverages they consumed in the past 24 hours. The UBC study compared the nutritional profile of foods consumed during school hours (between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.) with foods outside of school hours.
The researchers devised a School Healthy Eating Index (School-HEI), a score based on 11 key components of a healthy diet that examines the totality of foods and beverages consumed by Canadian children during school hours. The average score for of 53.4 points (out of a maximum of 100) for all Canadian children suggested substantial room for improvement.
The researchers also looked at sociodemographic information to examine whether any factors were associated with differences in diet quality among subgroups of children. They found that diet quality scores during school hours averaged nine points lower among children aged 14-17 compared to children aged 6-8. Children in Quebec, on average, scored at least five points higher than peers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba. Children from families with post-secondary education had scores that averaged two points higher, enough to be statistically significant.
Tugault-Lafleur now looks forward to comparing the data with a new set collected during the 2015 Canada Community Healthy Survey and released in early August.
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