ALBANY — A decade after new, healthier school lunches were introduced throughout the country — and widely rejected by students — the lunches appear to have made a difference in childhood obesity.
In 2010, new federal nutrition standards for all school lunches capped the number of calories offered per meal and required a variety of vegetables, lean protein, a shift to whole grains and less salt. Students are now offered an entire meal, including two fruits and vegetables. At first though, many of those healthier meals ended up being thrown out by students.
But a new study that tracked 20,000 elementary students in 900 schools for six years has found that students are no longer more likely to become obese if they eat school-provided lunches. Previously, many studies found a correlation between obesity and school lunch for all students — regardless of economic status.
The issue is critically important because 60 percent of students in the Unites States get lunch from school. In Albany, it’s about 65 percent, and a third of the students in pre-K through eighth grade also receive breakfast at school. The school district also provides snacks for after-school programs and sends many students home with dinner through the backpack program.
In other words, for many students, school-provided meals represent the majority of their nutrition. Studies that linked those meals with an increase in childhood obesity got federal attention, leading to the changes in 2010.
“Change is hard. I do think it was a shock in the beginning,” said Albany School Lunch Director and registered dietitian Lisa Finkenbinder, who started working in Albany just after the new meals were introduced.
The harsh reception from students led manufacturers to change their products, and school districts changed their recipes, she said.
“I think the manufacturers got on board and really looked at their…
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