Impact of providing milk options and nutrient information in school lunch progams

The impact of offering junior and senior high school students a choice of whole, skim, and low-fat milk within the Type A lunch pattern, with and without providing nutritional information at point of purchase, was investigated. When such an option was offered, approximately 13 per cent of the students chose either skim or low-fat milk. When nutritional information was made available concurrently, this percentage increased to 20, with more than 80 per cent of those students choosing low-fat milk. The older students used the options significantly more frequently than did the junior high students. Waste of skim milk, the taste of which was described as watery, was greater than that of the other types of milk. Although most students chose the type of milk they had at home, 16 per cent indicated that their choice was influenced by information on the fat and caloric content of milks provided by posters.