Shorter school lunches cut kids' fruit and veggie intake by half

A recent study has examined how lunch duration affects children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables. Researchers found that shorter lunch periods lead to significantly less intake of these healthy foods. The findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of school meal programmes under time constraints. The study involved elementary and middle school-aged children attending a summer camp. The lunch area was arranged to mimic a typical school cafeteria, with meals prepared following National School Lunch Program guidelines.

Each day, children were randomly given either a 10-minute or 20-minute lunch break, with the same menu served on both short and long lunch days. Research assistants tracked food consumption by photographing trays and weighing servings before and after meals.

Results showed that during 10-minute lunch periods, children ate less fruit and vegetables. While longer lunch periods did not greatly increase fruit and vegetable consumption overall, both were still eaten more than during shorter breaks. Fruits were consumed more than vegetables in all cases. The study suggests that policies like the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act may fall short if children lack enough time to finish their meals. Shorter lunch periods could disproportionately affect children from low-income families, who rely more on school meals for nutrition. Ensuring adequate lunch time may be key to improving healthy eating in schools.