School Lunch ‘Lab’ Reveals Promising Results
November 06, 2008
by Jean Saunders, HSC School Wellness Director
In August 2006, the New York Times magazine featured an article by Lisa Belkin about a program funded by the Agaston Research Foundation, founded in 2004 by Dr. Arthur Agaston, creator of the South Beach Diet. The article explained:
Recently Belkin returned with some preliminary results from the study. The data show that students who participated in the HOPS program were more likely to have reduced their weight and body mass index and had higher scores on state math tests than the “control” students in the study.
For those of us who work with students and have seen first-hand the connection that exists between student health and learning, these results come as no surprise. We hope this will serve as an important foundation for a growing body of evidence of this connection.
P.S. – OK, I have to admit to having saved that August 2006 issue of the New York Times magazine, thinking that it would serve as a good reminder to follow up and find out the results from this program. Maybe it’s time to clean out the other dog-eared gems that live at the bottom of my magazine basket and move to an electronic reminder system?
