Diet guidelines

Learn more about healthy eating for you and your family.

Marlborough School Lunch Menus for May 2008:

Massachusetts community takes aim at childhood obesity, hits target
Efforts to combat childhood obesity in the Boston suburb of Somerville paid off with public schoolchildren avoiding gaining about a pound of extra weight, compared to their counterparts in two other communities, according to a new study. Under the unique program, researchers met with parents and teachers to explain the importance of a good diet, more fruits and vegetables were added to school lunches, and teachers were taught a new health curriculum. San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press (5/16)

National School Lunch Program
This is the official site of the National School Lunch Program.

Nutrition Exploration Centers
Nutrition Explorations provides a fun and easy way to teach and learn nutrition. This site offers a new updated school wellness section: Tools for Making Wellness a Reality. The site has links specifically designed for parents, educators, and school nutrition professionals.

Food, Research and Action Center
The Food Research and Action Center website offers information about Federal Food Programs; Hunger in the United States; Food Stamp Center; Etc.

Meatless Mondays
Meatless Monday is a national health campaign to help Americans prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer - four of the leading causes of death in America. Meatless Monday, a healthy start for a healthy America, in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health.

Tiny Tummies
Tiny Tummies celebrates food and families. Our mission is to help parents raise curious and enthusiastic eaters.

Nutrition Explorations
Fun and easy way to teach and learn nutrition. Sections are available for educators, parents, kids, and school nutrition professionals.

Food Labels
At this site you can find information about food product labels. This site helps you to properly read and understand the information contained on food product package labels.

Nutrition for Kids
From the USDA/Agricultural Research Service's Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. This site includes links for kids and parents.

www.nutritionforkids.com is sponsored by 24 Carrot Press, founded in 1995 by Connie Evers, MS, RD, an award-winning registered dietitian who has dedicated her career to promoting the nutritional health of children and adolescents. This site provides resources that can be purchased for a nominal fee. It also includes a Just for Kids section offering, at no charge, Activities/Puzzles, Ideas for "Things to Do", Recipes, and Links to other sites.

Dr. Wayne Altman's Caveman Nutrition (Word)
Simple guidelines for good nutrition.

Fruit Juice Doubles Risk of Obesity
Children of primary-school age who consume juice and other fruit drinks on a regular basis are about twice as likely to be overweight or obese, an Australian study found.

School Nutrition Community Action Kit
A guide to changing school food policy in Massachusetts (MA Public Health Association)

5 A Day
This site, sponsored by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, is a wealth of activities, coloring pages, games, and so on to promote kids eating more vegetables and fruit.

Healthy Eating
A healthy diet is essential for achieving and maintaining optimum mental and physical health. By eating a variety of tasty, nutritious foods, you will reap numerous health benefits and feel great inside and out! Making the decision to eat well is a powerful investment in you. This site offers a primer on healthy eating for you and your family.

Fiber Content of Food
Fiber in food: what it is and how much is found in common foods (Minnesota Nutrient Database 4.04, Tufts University School of Medicine. Boston, MA Revised 3/02)

Nutrition Facts Labels: A Guide to Understanding DVs, RDAs, and DRIs
According to the Nutrition Information Resource Center, DRI values will be replacing RDAs as the standard recommended daily nutrient values over the next few years. This site helps you make sense of the new rules.

Organic Foods: Guide to Pesticides, GMOs, Food Irradiation, and Eating Well On A Budget. Organically grown produce reduces the potential health and environmental hazards posed by pesticides, GMOs, irradiation and additives. Pesticides can cause developmental delays, behavioral disorders, and motor dysfunction, and can even infect children in the womb. This article will help you understand the role of organic foods in your child's diet.

Eating Behavior
A one-slide guide to life style, eating style, food preparation and eating out (Herb Chen, M’06 Tufts University School of Medicine, January 2005).

Length of Massachusetts School Lunches and Pediatric Obesity
A study conducted in 2006 that links the length of school lunch periods to unhealthy eating and obesity (Wayne Altman, MD, Marisol Luna-Pizano, MD, MPH)