'Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act' Effective in Improving Health of School Children: Study

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A new study has found that the government-mandated program to give healthier lunch options in school cafeterias is successful.

Back in 2010, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was launched and, during the 2012 to 2013 school year, an increase in the amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables was found in the food choices offered during lunchtime in schools.

A study, which is published in JAMA Pediatrics, has found that, although more vegetables and fruits have been offered, there was no negative effect in the students' meal participation in schools. In fact, the HHFKA was found to have a positive impact in the health of the kids.

For the study, the researchers examined the nutritional quality of foods that students chose as well as the meal participation rates before and after the HHFKA was implemented. They were able to examine changes in more than 1.7 million school lunches at three middle and three high schools in Washington state from 2011 to 2014.

The foods' nutritional quality was assessed by calculating mean adequacy ratio (or MAR, which included calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, fiber and protein) and food energy density. Energy density was calculated as the number of calories per gram of food.

The researchers found that there was a substantial increase in the MAR before and after the HHFKA was implemented. Before implementation, an average MAR score of 58.7 was found, which rose to 75.6 after the act was implemented.

A decrease in the energy density of food was found before and after HHFKA implementation. Before it was implemented, an average energy density score of 1.65 was found, which went down to 1.44 after implementation.

The researchers found that there was no significant decrease in the meal participation of students, at 47 percent before implementation to 46 percent after it was implemented.

"We found that the implementation of the new meal standards was associated with the improved nutritional quality of meals selected by students,” the researchers conclude, according to a press release. “These changes appeared to be driven primarily by the increase in variety, portion size, and the number of servings of fruits and vegetables.”

Experts advocating for the HHFKA are asking policy makers to focus on the benefits of the act, instead of abandoning the progress that it has made in providing healthier food options to the country's students.

"The HHFKA created significant improvements in school nutrition, but that progress is now at risk of repeal,” they wrote in an editorial. “We encourage policy makers to consider the hard evidence rather than anecdotal reports when evaluating the impact of policy changes."