Does your child have enough time to eat well at school?

Many kids don't eat healthfully at school and a new study suggests it's because they don't have
enough time.

 

When children had a school lunch period of less than 20 minutes, they consumed less of their entrees, vegetables and milk, and they were less likely to choose a fruit to go with their meal, Harvard researchers reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

While eating less might seem to be a positive at a time when many children are battling obesity, with the new school nutrition guidelines, school meals may be one of the healthier meals kids eat all day, says Dr. Cambria Garell, assistant medical director of the Fit for Healthy Weight clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Research has shown that school lunches contain more fruits and vegetables when compared to lunches brought from home," says Cambria. "This makes it more important to give children sufficient time to eat the school lunch."

Read more: http://www.today.com/health/does-your-child-have-time-eat-well-school-t43426