Getting kids to eat healthy may not be a difficult thing after all.
A new study suggests that making the lunch period longer for students will help with encouraging them to find healthier food choices, according to The Seattle Times.
Researchers reportedly analyzed the eating habits of 1,001 elementary and middle-school students in Boston-area schools, and found that the more time students had to finish their lunches, the more fruits and vegetables they ate and the more milk they ate.
Researchers reportedly found that students that were strapped for time went straight to eating fruit because they were “trying to rush through the lunch line to maximize their amount of time to eat.”
“It is also possible that these students recognized they would have less time to eat and therefore only selected foods they were likely to consume.”
The findings of the research suggest that a lunch break of at least 25 minutes allows students to consume as much food as they need, along with the healthier options, according to the news outlet KRWGNews22.
Kids with the longest lunch periods reportedly ate 47 percent of their vegetables and drank 73 percent of their milk on average. The students with the shortest lunches reportedly ate only 35 percent of their vegetables and drank only 62 percent of their milk on average.
“A 30-minute lunch period would enable most students to have a sufficient amount of seated time in cafeterias, taking into account travel time to the cafeteria and waiting in line for food,” wrote researchers.
Lead author of the study Juliana Cohen added, ”Many children, especially those from low-income families, rely on school meals for up to half their daily energy intake so it is essential that we give students a sufficient amount of time to eat their lunches".
