Adding fresh fruits and vegetables into Arkansas school meals not only lowers obesity rates but can also save hundreds of dollars per-child to prevent obesity, according to a new study.
Conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the study was done in a state where residents report some of the nation’s highest childhood obesity rates.
The study focused on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program which was designed to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten by students in the nation’s poorest elementary schools.
Obesity rates dropped from 20% to 17% in sampled low-income elementary schools, once the program began.
The study calculated that the fruit and vegetable program costs were about $50-75 per-child per-year to reduce the obesity rate by 3%, small compared to the $280 to $339 per-student per-year cost of an effort to reduce childhood obesity by 1%, according to 2011 research.
“By this measure, our results suggest that the fresh fruit and vegetable program is a very cost-effective obesity prevention tool,” Rodolfo Nayga, a researcher and division professor, said in a press release. “Moreover, prevention of childhood obesity is in addition to the other nutritional benefits that come from increased fruit and vegetable consumption.”
USDA reimburses schools that offer students free fresh produce outside of breakfast and lunch.