LOS ANGELES—A new study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics found food served in 14 hospitals and children’s hospitals in California fall short of providing healthy and nutritious meals.
Researchers at UCLA and the RAND Corporation assessed 14 food venues at the state’s 12 major children’s hospitals and found only 7% of entrees classified as “healthy, which means there is a lot of room for improvement in their offerings and practices.
The researchers developed a modified version of the Nutrition Environment Measures Scale for Restaurants (NEMS-R) as an assessment tool for rating the food offerings in hospital cafeterias. The measurement system takes into account pricing, availability of vegetables, nutrition labeling, combo promotions and healthy beverages.
Overall the average score for the 14 hospital food venues was 19.1, out of a range of 0 (least healthy) to 37 (most healthy). Of the total 359 entrees the hospitals served, only 7% were classified as healthy according to the NEMS criteria. While nearly all the hospitals offered healthy alternatives such as fruit, less than one-third had nutrition information at the point of sale or signs to promote healthy eating.
All 14 food venues offered low-fat or skim milk and diet soda; 81% offered high-calorie, high-sugar items such as cookies and ice cream near the cash register; 25% sold whole-wheat bread; 50% of the hospitals did not provide any indication they carried healthy entrees; and 44% did not have low-calorie salad dressings.
Researchers said hospitals can improve the health of their food offerings by providing more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and smaller portions; shrink the amount of low-nutrient choices, and utilize low-cost options to promote healthy eating such as signage and keeping unhealthy impulse items away from the checkout stand.
“As health professionals, we understand the connection between healthy eating and good health, and our hospitals should be role models in this regard," said Dr. Lenard Lesser, primary investigator and a physician in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program in the Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Unfortunately, the food in many hospitals is no better—and in some cases worse—than what you would find in a fast-food restaurant."
