Unplanned nutrition education in the schools: sugar in elementary reading texts

Analysis of food content in 1,666 readers, prereaders and reading workbooks for grades K-3 revealed an undue emphasis upon sweets in both words and pictures. Cake alone accounted for one of every 12 food appearances. While fruits and vegetables were pictured slightly more often than sugar-rich foods, they were related to actual food consumption far less frequently than sweets. By publisher, other food groups accounted for 10% or less of all food pictures and 15% or less of all food words. Snacks, treats and parties appeared more often as occasions for eating than regular meals, excluding picnics. Families were rarely presented eating together and little attention was devoted to the nutritional value of food. Knowledge children acquire from the media and other sources before attending school has been identified as a force counteracting nutrition education, but unintended messages conveyed in K-3 readers also may work against the promotion of healthy eating habits. Reading texts should be screened for nutritional content before adoption and revised to reduce the appearance of sweets in accord with national dietary goals. Nutrition education must extend beyond teaching the basic four food groups to help children recognize how their food choices are affected by environmental influences, inside as well as outside of school.