According to a recent study published online journal, Pediatrics, children gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools, reported CBS News. For the full story, click here.
Editor’s Insight: This marks one of the most comprehensive studies of school nutrition policies, and there are some disagreements among researchers over the findings. One finding is that for policies to be effective, they must be strong in all grades within a given district.
This marks one of two news stories in today’s VendingMarketWatch addressing the impact of school nutrition rules that were implemented a few years ago. The policies were designed to address childhood obesity, a serious problem that has been many years in the making. Attempts to address the problem are still relatively new.
Researchers still have a lot of studying to do on how effective the policies have been. 08-13-12 By Elliot Maras
