A pilot project in Kristiansand in Norway aimed to study whether service of a free school lunch has an impact on weight development and food intake among pupils at a lower secondary school. A free healthy school lunch was served to 9th grade pupils over 4 months, from January to May 2007. Weight and height were measured before and after the intervention.

BMI did not increase among the girls at the intervention school, but increased significantly among the boys at the intervention school and among the control school groups.  Further studies are needed to clarify the impact of school meals on overweight and academic performance.

Read more.

In an effort to help families and school administrators fight the epidemic of obesity among children, a Yale-led team of researchers has developed a practical coding system to evaluate school wellness policies, which are required of all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. This coding system was introduced in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Read more.

On Friday, the First Lady made a visit to Bancroft Elementary School to talk to the students who helped her plant the White House vegetable garden, and she once again stressed the importance of healthy eating. As she has said before, Mrs. Obama told students and parents that she turned to take-out and processed foods during the campaign, and that she “started to see that taking a toll on our health.”

Legislators and USDA officials are slowly starting to talk about school meals as a health initiative.

Read more

Three middle schools replaced snacks and beverages that did not meet nutrition guidelines, whereas three comparison schools made no systematic changes. Findings indicate that removing low nutrition items from schools decreased students’ consumption with no compensatory increase at home. This dispels concerns that such efforts will have unintended negative consequences.

Read more