Health Researchers Examine Unhealthy Options In Schools

    Feb. 7, 2012
    About half of elementary school students still have access to sugary snacks and other unhealthy options in school vending machines, among the findings of an analysis of unhealthy offerings in schools by researcher Lindsey R. Turner, Ph.D., of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

    About half of elementary school students still have access to sugary snacks and other unhealthy options in school vending machines, among the findings of an analysis of unhealthy offerings in schools by researcher Lindsey R. Turner, Ph.D., of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. For the full story, click here.

    Editor’s Insight: This article summarizes research on the availability of snacks and candy in schools. The research does not condemn vending machines altogether.

    One finding from this study is that more vending machines and snack bars doesn't have to mean more unhealthy snack options. It also found that public school students in the South, where obesity rates are highest, have a greater availability of healthier foods, including fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, compared with students in the Midwest or the West. 02-07-12 By Elliot Maras