The Positive Power of Choice

What do you want for lunch? Faced with the question every day, kids often fall back on the same few favorites. Often it’s the type of food available from a drive-thru window. Parents have some control over what their kids eat at home and can offer healthy choices, but what about at school? Even though school lunch menus have become healthier in some ways, kids can still pass up the veggies and fruit for a burger and double fries, topped off with a couple of chocolate chip cookies.

An interesting study and its results was the subject of a Time.com article, “Pre-Ordering School Lunches Steer Kids To Healthier Meal Choices.” The study tracked the choices of 272 school children in grades 1-5 in Upstate New York. For four weeks, the students pre-ordered their lunches electronically. Twenty-nine percent of the students chose healthier entrees compared to only 15 percent when the pre-order option wasn’t available. When the kids went through the cafeteria line to choose their lunch, 48 percent were more likely to choose unhealthy choices, versus 21 percent who made healthier choices.

Was it the fun and familiarity of using a touch screen device, much like kids playing video games or computer learning software? Researchers from Cornell University suggested that the kids made healthier choices since they were free from the distracting and tempting sights and smells of the actual food in a cafeteria line. Who can resist the smell of the French fries or cheeseburgers? Or a freshly baked brownie, hot out of the oven? 

Anti-obesity advocates lauded the efforts of schools to make the food choices and eating environment healthier and more appealing. School cafeterias offered more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, adhering to stricter guidelines on calorie counts, as well. Kids were making better choices, but complained they were still hungry. The healthier foods, with lower calories, fat, sugar and salt just didn’t fill them up. 

Despite the early setbacks, it seems that the change in school lunch menus is making a difference and kids are making better choices for meals and healthy snacks. One important factor is making sure that healthy choices are available at all outlets for food, including vending machines and the school store. No sense banning candy bars, sweets and sodas in the cafeteria when these choices are readily available elsewhere in the school. Kids are smart enough to toss out the salad and head to the school store for a bag of Doritos and a can of Pepsi.

The Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project in its recent health assessment showed that offering healthier choices and nutrition levels for school lunches helps students maintain a healthy weight. Without the snacks and vending machine sodas, students buy more food in the cafeteria. This helps school budgets as well. 

Any change is slow, and the efforts to change kids eating habits continue. Using school kids as taste-testers help schools offer what kids like and are more likely to eat. New efforts will build on early success to help kids become and stay healthier for a lifetime.

Photo Source: Wylio.com