Teachers' Experience and Perspectives of Traditional Breakfast and Breakfast in the Classroom.
OBJECTIVE
To understand teachers' perceptions about Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast.


DESIGN
An electronic survey was sent to teachers across the state of Utah. Teachers responded to an open-ended question exploring what they liked and/or disliked about Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast.


SETTING
Schools across the state of Utah.


PARTICIPANTS
Kindergarten through grade 12 teachers who were members of the Utah Education Association.


PHENOMENON OF INTEREST
Teachers' opinions regarding Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional school breakfast ANALYSIS: Researchers independently coded all responses and then grouped codes into themes. Themes were reviewed recursively over time.


RESULTS
The 3 overarching themes were food and nutrition, administration of school breakfast, and student outcomes. Aspects most commonly disliked were the nutrition or quality of food, the mess created, the time required, coordination and logistical issues, behavioral issues, and waste. Aspects most commonly liked were breakfast being available to all students, students being fed or not hungry, coordination and logistics, and student learning and academics.


CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Teachers liked and disliked aspects of Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast. Schools could potentially increase efforts to garner support and feedback from teachers to create buy-in and identify best practices. Future research could focus on identifying the effect that the School Breakfast Program model has on teachers' perceptions as well as confirming results with a larger and more diverse population.
Understanding Perceptions of School Administrators Related to School Breakfast in a Low School Breakfast Participation State.
BACKGROUND
The National School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federally funded program that allows states to offer nutritious breakfast to K-12 students. However, rates of SBP participation are low in some rural states, and the reasons are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to explore administrators' perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs related to the SBP, and factors they identify as barriers or facilitators to increased participation.


METHODS
Data were collected from a cross-sectional, online survey of K-12 school administrators (N = 152) in a rural, midsized Midwestern state fielded over an academic year. Descriptive statistics were calculated and open-ended questions were coded and analyzed for relevant themes.


RESULTS
Administrators identified busing schedules, time constraints, and a lack of flexibility within the school schedule to accommodate breakfast as primary structural barriers to SBP participation. Administrators described family-centered norms as reasons for low participation in rural areas. Administrators are at varying stages of readiness to work on improving participation.


CONCLUSIONS
Low SBP participation can be explained in part by a convergence of factors related to access, community norms, and structural barriers. Results may be used to inform ways in which administrators at the state, district, and school level can work to increase participation.
Dietary and physical activity behaviors of middle school youth: the youth physical activity and nutrition survey.
BACKGROUND
Obesity has become a national epidemic among youth. Declining physical activity and poor nutrition contribute to this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on middle school students' physical activity and nutrition knowledge and practices.


METHODS
The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey was developed and distributed to a probability sample of Florida public middle schools (n = 73) in spring 2003, producing data from 4,452 students in grades 6-8.


RESULTS
Results showed that less than one fourth of youth met expert recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable intake and less than one fifth identified the daily fruit and vegetable serving recommendation. Less than half of students reported eating breakfast daily. More non-Hispanic black youth reported not engaging in vigorous or moderate physical activity during the previous 7 days, and more girls and Hispanic youth reported not attending any physical education classes during the average school week.


CONCLUSION
These findings demonstrate that dietary and physical activity behaviors and knowledge among these middle school youth are setting the stage for the obesity epidemic to continue.