School nutrition policies can help keep kids healthy

A new study finds that school nutrition programs and policies can help middle school kids to eat healthier — and be healthier. Researchers followed nearly 600 students from a dozen schools in New Haven, Conn. Some of the schools beefed up their focus on nutrition by sending out newsletters about healthy eating, promoting water instead of sugary drinks, and similar steps. In the schools with more robust policies, students had an increase in body mass index of less than 1 percent by the end of the study, compared to increases of 3 to 4 percent in kids in other schools. The authors say the findings show that nutrition education and school policies can help improve children’s health.