WASHINGTON - The efforts made by the Obama Administration to tackle unhealthy eating in children appears to be paying off, according to a recent study.
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut reported a study on March 4 stating that since the changes to government-subsidized meals provided in public schools were made in 2012, the number of students choosing fruit in the cafeteria line is up 12 percent.
That’s all well and good, but do they eat the fruit after grabbing it? The Rudd Center reported they did, according to a New York Times article. The study’s findings show that not only were the children eating more of the fruit they selected, but they were finishing more of the food on their trays than they were a few years ago.
Students ate 84 percent of their entrees, not including fruit. This is a significant improvement from the 71 percent that did so before the rules were in place, reporting a significant decrease in the amount of food waste.
“This research adds to evidence that the updated nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program can succeed in helping students eat healthier,” Marlene B. Schwartz, the study’s lead author and Director of the Rudd Center, said in the New York Times report.
This particular information is pertinent to many nutritionists and skeptical reports from 2012 who argued children were throwing food away because they were being forced to eat what was healthier, but not necessarily appealing.
The study is not without its opponents, however, mostly due to the data being collected from a number of schools only one day out of the academic year. Also, students are required under the new regulations to grab a fruit when going through the lunch line, and some question if there was enough emphasis on how many of them actually ate the fruit they took.
Many political opponents to the new meal regulations still argue that the food is unappetizing to students and an unnecessary rise in expenses for schools. The Agriculture Department, according to the New York Times, said the new rules and regulations would cost school districts $1.2 billion extra in food and labor expenses this year.
Though it provides food for thought, it appears the study will not bring the debates on school lunches to a close.
