Should kids
in school be given more time to eat lunch? When given a few extra minutes, they
might make healthier choices. A recent study published by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics showed that food selection and the amount of food consumed are
related to the amount of time students are given to eat.
The study
measured the food selections and plate waste of 1,001 students in grades three
through eight. The students were spread across six elementary schools located
in an urban, low-income school district in Massachusetts.
The six
participating schools had set lunch periods of 20, 25 and 30 minutes. Students
were able to pick three out of five offered food groups: fruits, vegetables,
grains, milk and protein. When researchers looked at the selection of foods, 57
percent of students chose a fruit when given at least 25 minutes to eat, while only 44
percent of students with less than 20 minutes to eat chose a fruit (timing
started when students left the lunch line and stopped at the end of the lunch
period).
Although
there was no significant relationship between the amount of time and the
selection of the entree, vegetable and milk components, results showed that more
of these options were consumed when children were given more time to eat.
Using plate-waste methodology researchers found that when students had less
than 20 minutes for lunch (meaning they were at the end of the lunch line or
arrived late for other reasons) they consumed, on average, 13 percent less of
their entrees, 12 percent less of their vegetable and 10 percent less of their
milk compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat.
Bottom Line:
The quality of school lunches has been a recent topic for policy makers, but
there are currently no national standards for the length of school lunch periods. These
findings show that when students aren’t given enough time to eat, their choices
and intake are affected. If schools provide at least 30 minutes for a lunch
period, students will have the time they need to travel to the cafeteria, wait
in line, and eat their lunch, leading to less plate waste and improved dietary
intake.
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