Children Eat Better When the Break Is Before Lunch.
According to a 2011 study recently posted on Reddit, the typical American elementary school timetable is mixed in the middle. While most schools (over 95% in 2006) have lunch before recess, a study on nutrition in Utah found that when recess was postponed to lunch, elementary school students ate 54% more fruits and vegetables .
This was not a surprise. In 2010, the New York Times reported on several studies and pilot programs in which the lunch break was rescheduled. A study in Arizona found that the number of visits to nurses fell by 40 percent. According to the Times , “One child told school workers that he was happy that he no longer vomits during recess.” In a 2002 study in Montana, children who took a break before lunch consumed less food (and ate more slowly) and drank more milk and water. Because of this, the Times reports that by 2010, one-third of Montana schools had a lunch break.
A study in Washington DC found that children ate more at lunch after break ; Florida ‘s twenty-two-school program showed improved productivity and fewer complaints of waste and hunger. (Studies in the Midwest and Hawaii found no significant change in food consumption.) Because of all these positive results, CDC recommends this step nationwide in its recommendations for change.
However, the vast majority of schools (over 95% as of 2006) still have lunch breaks. Every child hears all the time that life is not fair.