Advice to parents: Send what they will eat. You don’t want your kid hungry, embarrassed at parents sending weird healthy stuff. So it has to be something they will like, something their friends at the lunch table won’t gross out on, and that hopefully also contributes to daily good nutrition. Read more in theis NPR piece on hos parents preparing school lunches straddle two countries: The Island of Ideal and The Land of the Real.
Archive for category School nutrition
In 80% of all secondary schools students can buy junk foods or beverages from vending machines or at the school store, canteen, or snack bar. This is based on a new report from CDC. Data were collected in 2006.
School-based intervention programs provide the best results for reducing prevalence of childhood obesity if they are performed with involvement of stakeholders and political support. In this context physical activity education in schools, reducing television viewing and nutritional education are examples of interventions that have been successful.
Linking local farm F%V to school lunches, while more expensive and more work, pays off in better food that more students eat, food service directors say. In turn, better food leads more children to sign up for school lunches, which offsets costs. And school purchases nurture regional agricultural economies.
More Than 1 in 3 US High Schools Push Junk Food, the CDC reports.
Working on the principle that students tend to fill up a tray until there is no space left only to throw much of it away, a growing number of institutions are forcing diners to be more selective about what – and how much – they eat.
In July the USDA published a report on its school lunch program. The program provides provided over 28 million low-cost or free lunches every day. They also try to answer the question: Does the school lunch program promote obesity in order to support industrial agriculture?
A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions to promote fruit and/or vegetable consumption in children in schools was conducted to inform the EC policy development process. 30 studies were included, 70% increased fruits and vegetables (FV) intake, with none decreasing intake.
Catherine Kraus from University of Michigan explaines that a healthy, balanced diet enables neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) to function more efficiently, resulting in improved concentration and memory.
The YoNaturals company announced a new program to encourage schools to stock healthy foods and drinks in vending machines.