HHS HealthBeat (April 20, 2006)

Early lunch, late snack.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Are early lunches foiling healthy food choices for teens?

A report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association answers yes.

The Penn State study, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surveyed 227 Pennsylvania high schools – 25 percent of which serve lunch before 10:30 a.m.

Those schools had higher "a la carte" sales – food lines that are not part of the federally supported school lunch program. But critics say they often have lower nutritional value. And maybe the kids were buying a la carte cookies and snack cakes for later.

Researcher Claudia Probart says parents can help kids on early lunch by packing a healthy snack:

"Augment that meal pattern with fruits or vegetable sticks, or something that doesn't need refrigeration and can be carried." (eight seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 15 2006