Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Third Coast Research and Development Inc. of Galveston, Texas, said due to the increasing cost of food preparation and storage, more and more childcare centers are requiring parents to provide food for their children.

The researchers studied for three consecutive days the lunches of 74 children ages 3-5 attending full-time childcare centers that required parents to provide lunches.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found more than 50 percent of lunches provided less than minimum amounts of calories, carbohydrates, vitamin A, calcium, iron and zinc. Also, 96 percent of lunches provided less than minimum recommended amounts of dietary fiber.

The lunches did contain 114 percent of the recommended amount of sodium.

When parents were asked if lunch provides an important opportunity for their children to receive nutrients, all 97 agreed, but 63 percent responded that they tend to pack only foods they know their child will eat.