Less Time To Eat School Lunch Is Unhealthy For Children

School lunches that last for just 20 minutes make students eat less fruits, vegetables and milk than others who get more time.

The CDC says that while school lunches have become healthier, most students tend to just throw away most their lunch into the garbage bin. Researchers at the University of Vermont find that children are wasting a lot of food, throwing away half a cup of fruit and vegetables. The CDC's recommendation is thus to pre-portion the meals.

However, another new study comes up with an alternative idea---more time for lunch. Researchers from Merrimack College in Massachusetts, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Boston-based non-profit organization called Project Bread arrived at the conclusion after some research.

The study observed 1,001 students in six elementary and middle schools who got 20 to 30 minutes during lunch. They investigated their diets, lunch time and what they left.

These are the findings of the research: Those who got just 20 minutes to finish lunch ate just 13 percent less of their entrées, 12 percent less of their vegetables and 10 percent less of their milk compared to students who got 25 minutes.

"We were surprised by some of the results because I expected that with less time children may quickly eat their entrée and drink their milk but throw away all fruits and vegetables," Eric Rimm, senior study author and a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School, said in a university news release. "Not so - we found they got a start on everything, but couldn't come close to finishing with less time to eat."

The conclusion is that the lunch period should be increased, or the waiting time to queue up and take their lunch in the cafeteria should be reduced, according to hngn.

The study was published in the Sept. 11 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.