Obesity may be caused by shorter lunch periods in schools, USA TODAY reports.
A new national survey by the School Nutrition Association shows that elementary kids have about 25 minutes for lunch, and middle and high school students are given about 30 minutes to eat. When factoring in time spent going to the restroom, washing their hands, walking to the cafeteria, and standing in line for their meals, that gives students only about 10 to 15 minutes left to eat their meals, school nutrition directors tell USA TODAY.
Under such time constraints, kids are more likely to eat their food a lot faster. And according to research, when people eat quickly, they consume more calories and actually feel hungrier an hour later.
Many students feel rushed, Deborah Taylor, director of the Shawnee (Okla.) School Nutrition Services, told USA TODAY.
Helen Phillips, president of the School Nutrition Association, and senior director of school nutrition for Norfolk (Va.) Public Schools, told USA TODAY, "It's a problem in a lot of districts. There's not a lot of time to get their food, sit down and eat their fill."
The typical length of lunchtime for students in the United States has been about the same since 2009, but it's shorter than in 2003 when students got up to five minutes more.
Children in other countries, however, are given much more time to enjoy their lunch. Students in France, for example, get as long as one to two hours to eat lunch.
According to USA TODAY, new nutrition standards set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 contributes to students feeling rushed when eating lunch. That’s because many schools are now serving fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, salad bars or entree salads, and fat-free and 1% milk. Although healthy, those kinds of foods usually take more time to eat, Phillips told USA TODAY. "It takes more time to chew a whole apple than applesauce. Eating an entree salad takes longer than eating a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets, because of the crunching and chewing of the raw vegetables."
Phillips added that children who bring their lunch typically have a little more time to eat because they don't have to stand in line to get their meal; but, she added, that usually depends on the child. "The younger elementary kids tend to eat slowly," she said.
There are a lot of demands in the academic environment that affect lunch schedules, so food service directors work with principals to make sure lunch hours are set up so everyone is served quickly, Phillips continued. "I think we have diminished the joy of sitting down and enjoying a meal. Now, the attitude is we should sit down and eat and get it over with," Phillips said.
