US School Lunches Are Getting Better, Study Finds

The push for healthier school meals started around five years and a part of it is encouraging students to consume more fruit and vegetables.

“Both the longitudinal design and food-specific data collection included in the Johnson et al study provide strong evidence supporting the positive impact of this legislation”, they said.

Overall, the research team examined changes in more than 1.7 million lunches at three middle school and three high schools in an urban school district in Washington state from 2011 to 2014.

The study analyzed about 7,000 students and looked over nutritional value in lunches and what students would select.

Erin R. Hager, assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Maryland, agrees that the new study suggests that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is meeting its goal of making school meals healthier, and doesn’t seem to be affecting how many kids are having school lunches. In addition, the researchers found that the Act did not significantly change how many students chose the meals.

The study “supports other cross-sectional and survey-based studies that demonstrate significant improvements in the nutritional composition of school meals and healthier food consumption among students following the implementation of the meal pattern changes stemming from the HHFKA”, Hager and Turner wrote. “These changes appeared to be driven primarily by the increase in variety, portion size, and the number of servings of fruits and vegetables”, announced the lead study author Donna Johnson, a professor of nutritional science at the University of Washington, in a news release.

Back in 2010, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was launched and, during the 2012 to 2013 school year, an increase in the amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables was found in the food choices offered during lunchtime in schools.

The 2010 HHFKA updated nutritional standards for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

“The HHFKA created significant improvements in school nutrition, but that progress is now at risk of repeal”, they wrote in an editorial.

“We commend these six schools JAMA followed who have maintained student participation in meal programs, but the study ignores the unintended consequences causing nationwide decreased participation in the NSLP”, said Jean Ronnei, SNA president and chief operations officer at Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, in the statement. More than half of the students at the schools, located in urban districts, were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Although some students complained they were not getting enough food, because of the controlled portion sizes.

While Johnson and colleagues say these findings are consistent with other studies that show the HHFKA has increased the nutritional quality of school meals, they stress that their study has overcome a number of limitations of previous research. “So it’s good that they are given this when they show up to class a lot of the times“.