Study Finds: Family Time Can Help Waist Lines!

Derived from 17 previous studies, researchers found that, "youngsters who joined family members regularly for meals were 24% more likely to eat healthy foods than kids who rarely ate with their families. They were also less likely to suffer from eating disorders," reports US News Health.

Amber Hammons, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the study lead author for the findings that were recently published in May 2 issue of Pediatrics wanted to find if there was a relationship between family and nutrition.

Verdict: Yes and here are some of the findings:

3 or more meals with the family
- 12% less likely to be overweight
- 20% less likely to eat sweets, fried foods, pop, and other junk foods

5 or more meals with the family
- 25% less likely to practice poor nutritionn habits

The study suggests that eating with the family serves as protective benefits for children, but the reasons are unclear.

Families play important roles in children's lives. Most kids actually see their parents as their role models the article says, which could be a reason why there is a positive link between families and nutrition. Think of the potential the positive link has. If a child's parents helped him be more involved by growing and picking produce from the family organic garden, cooking, and sitting down to enjoy the work all of them put in, can you imagine the benefits? Not only would the child be more involved, he could also learn about good nutrition during the process.

I think the benefits can be two fold too. Parents can pack a lunch for the next school day made from leftovers, (because who doesn't want leftovers of a meal made from love? I don't think those people even exist...), which could continue the suggestions made by the study and lessen the chances of childhood obesity.

Win-win.

Read the original article yourself here.

UC Berkeley Presents Proof that Edible Schoolyards Works

Photo Source: Katie Standke, http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/

When food enthusiast Alice Waters broke ground and began the Edible Schoolyards (ESY) program in 1997, she embarked on a journey to “create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school’s curriculum, culture, and food program.”

While the idea of a school garden is right on point with what we hear about today in the push toward making children’s school lunches healthier, this program was one of even fewer of its kind thirteen years ago.

So in the fall of 2005, the University of California at Berkeley began a 3-year study to take a closer look at the program’s results, and its effects on students and their communities. As the study finished in spring of 2009, the results of the UC Berkeley study funded by the Chez Panisse Foundation are now available, and have revealed some very positive results!

The study followed 238 students in the program, and found that after a combination of eating healthy foods at school, learning about gardening and nutrition at school, that their nutrition knowledge, taste for and consumption of fruits and vegetables increased.

The schools of the ESY program offer from-scratch meals in their cafeterias, include gardens in 11 of the 13 district’s participating schools, and give teachers curriculum and lesson plans that incorporate food, culture, health and the environment.

After a good deal of scrutiny, the program has proved that the resulting benefits are real, and can have a great impact on student’s attitudes toward food as they grow into adulthood.

Stories like these are exactly what we at the Organic School Project love to hear!

Check out the program’s website at http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/, and continue to work with us in bringing more programs like this to districts all over the country!