School Nutrition Policy Changes Children’s Dietary Habits
January 9, 2009 - A study published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition shows that a policy restricting the availability of unhealthy snacks in elementary schools led to an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption among fifth-graders.
Although the increase was relatively small (roughly 3 percent), study authors stated that it was still significant. According to the study, even a small percentage increase signifies that the policy affects a fairly large number of children throughout the school.
The study surveyed 10,285 fifth-graders at 2,065 elementary schools nationwide. In addition, school administrators reported on snack-restriction policies and snack availability from vending machines, school stores, snack bars and cafeterias. Notably, children reported their fruit and vegetable consumption for the entire day, not just during school hours.
The data suggests that children’s experience in one part of their day is having an impact on their day as a whole and that a restrictive snack policy should be part of a multi-faceted approach to improve children’s diet quality.
Healthy School Environment Creates Positive Results for Georgia School
A recent CNN.com article portrays an elementary school in Georgia that has been ahead of the curve in establishing healthy eating policies. Ten years ago, the school implemented a sugar free policy – the school has no bake sales, no birthday cupcakes, no cookies or ice cream.
According to the article, in the first six months of the sugar ban, disciplinary incidents went down 23 percent, counseling referrals decreased 30 percent, and in the first years of standardized test scores, reading scores improved 15 percent. And, truancy rates have decreased since 1998. Nevertheless, more data such as body mass index measurements are needed to see whether the students became healthier.
The article includes an example of a former student, who was a fifth-grader when the school banned sugar. As one of the heavier students, she lost a lot of weight and became healthier overall. She credits the program with teaching her lifelong lessons about healthy eating.
The article highlights, however, that removing junk foods from schools is not the only means to achieving positive outcomes. What happened in the Georgia school was a result of a number of factors – the school created an environment in which learning about healthy lifestyles became a normal part of the curriculum. Focusing on healthy eating, physical education, and teaching children how to make healthy decisions themselves is now a common part of the school day.
A typical school day begins with an hour of jumping jacks, exercising and dancing. The students then eat a healthy breakfast that includes, for example, omelets, soy milk, organic cereal and turkey sausages. According to the article, “kids don’t hate the healthy stuff.”
Source: "Restricting Snack in U.S. Elementary Schools is Associated with Higher Frequency of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption," The Journal of Nutrition, January 2009; "Limiting School Snack Boosts Fruit, Veggie Consumption," Carolyn Colwell, Health Day, 2008; and "10 Years Later, School Still Sugar Free and Proud," CNN.com, December 12, 2008.