Healthier School Lunches Lead To Lower Obesity Rates

The Huffington Post (1/7, Mader) features a story from The Hechinger Report's HechingerEd Blog which praises "the passage of First Lady Michelle Obama's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 and new school lunch requirements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2011," for leading America's school menus to be "healthier than ever – even if kids aren't always happy about it." The article notes that, "Despite disdain from kids, efforts to improve nutrition in schools seem to be helping, especially in states suffering from high child obesity rates like Mississippi." In Mississippi, "A recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that in school-based efforts, including more physical education time and nutritional standards for snacks sold in vending machines, have led to a 13 percent decline in child obesity...over the last six years."