They provoked plenty of adolescent angst and even a boycott or two, but the new federal school lunch guidelines appear to be working.
Teenagers have finally submitted to the brave new era of healthy eating.
A new study in JAMA Pediatrics found that the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which was passed in 2010 and implemented for the 2012-13 school year, did not appear to stop kids from eating school lunch.
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School lunch participation decreased only nominally from 2011 to 2014, from 47 percent to 46 percent.
The schools the study examined are indeed serving healthier food than in the past, at least according to mean adequacy ratio (MAR) and energy density, the two metrics used by the researchers.
MAR is calculated based on the presence of calcium, iron, fiber, protein, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.
Energy density refers to the number of calories per gram––foods with lower densities have fewer calories.
The study showed that MAR increased from an average of 58.7 before the new guidelines were put in place to 75.6 after. Energy density declined from an average of 1.65 to 1.44.
"We found that the implementation of the new meal standards was associated with the improved nutritional quality of meals selected by students. 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.
The HHFKA was pushed by First Lady Michelle Obama as part of her efforts to fight childhood obesity by encouraging healthier eating and exercise for children.
Many Republicans have criticized the standards as excessive government nanny-ism that imposes a potentially costly mandate on local school districts.
In an editorial for JAMA, Professors Erin R. Hager of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore and Lindsey Turner of Boise State University, urged lawmakers to look at the evidence, which they say displays the clear benefits of the new law.
"The HHFKA created significant improvements in school nutrition, but that progress is now at risk of repeal," they wrote. "We encourage policy makers to consider the hard evidence rather than anecdotal reports when evaluating the impact of policy changes."
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