Home-Packed Lunches Often Flunk Nutrition, Study Finds
Home-Packed Lunches Often Flunk Nutrition, Study Finds – According to a study published last month in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, it turns out that the brown-bag lunches we make may be less nutritious than we think they are.
The study showed that most home-packed lunches flunked when they were graded based on the criteria set by the National School Lunch Program. This organization requires that school lunches contain servings from all five major food groups: fruit, veggies, grains, protein and dairy. But when researchers studied lunches from over 600 third and fourth graders, the results showed that none of the home-packed lunches contained servings from all of the food groups. None.
In fact, only 27% of the lunches contained three or more food groups. The typical lunch contained a sandwich, chips and water. Sugar-sweetened beverages were a close second beverage choice. Milk, an excellent source of calcium, was missing from most lunches.
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