Longer lunch periods mean fuller students

In schools with short lunch periods, children eat less and discard more than in schools where they are allowed more time to eat, a new study has found.

Researchers tracked the eating habits of 1,001 students in grades three to eight at six elementary and middle schools in low-income school districts during the 2011-12 school year.

Compared with schools where children could sit at the table for 25 minutes or more, those who had 20 to 24 minutes consumed an average of 6.9 per cent less of their entrees, 3.7 per cent fewer vegetables and 2.3 per cent less milk. In schools that allowed less than 20 minutes, students consumed 12.8 per cent less of their entrees, 11.8 per cent fewer vegetables and 10.3 per cent less milk. The study is in The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

"We need to focus on how to get kids to select and consume the appropriate food," said the lead author, Juliana FW Cohen, an assistant professor at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. "Giving kids enough time to eat appears to play an important role."

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