Why Kids Should Eat Lunch After Recess Instead of Before

If you want kids to actually eat the fruits and vegetables that you packed in their lunch for school, the answer is simple: they need to get in recess before lunch.

According to researchers at Cornell University, kids in school are much more likely to eat healthy food if they have a chance to play and work out their energy before lunchtime.

If you think about it from the kids’ point of view, it makes total sense. Most schools require kids to select both a fruit and a vegetable when they walk through the lunch line, but school officials claim that the healthy food generally ends up getting tossed.

Why?

Because most schools hold recess after lunch so kids are in a hurry to finish eating lunch so they can go outside and play and if they have to pick between junk food or healthy food, they're going to pick the junk food.

Cornell researchers studied this subject and say that in situations where recess was held before lunch, kids would show up for lunch with a big and healthy appetite and were might more likely to finish their fruits and vegetables.

[via CDC/US News and World Report]