Serving water with school lunches makes children less likely to become obese, according to new research.
A five-year pilot study in 1,200 elementary and middle schools in New York City found that placing water dispensers in cafeterias is more successful than ensuring healthy food is sold during lunch.
Expanding the program nationwide could prevent more than half a million children in the US from piling on the pounds.
The percentage of children with obesity in the US has more than tripled since the 1970s. Today, about one in five school-aged children is obese.
A five-year pilot study was conducted in 1,200 elementary and middle schools in New York City and found that placing water dispensers in school cafeterias may prevent more than half a million children in the US from gaining weight
Researchers found that adding water dispensers to school lunches led to significant declines in pupils’ risks of being overweight 12 months later.
The study conducted by University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Ruopeng An, showed it would cost only $18 for each student for the entirety of their education.
This could even boost the economy by more than $13billion thanks to increased productivity and less illness.
Professor An’s study published in the journal of Pediatric Obesity suggests a permanent decrease of adults who are overweight or obese.
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of most major illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and has even been linked to dementia.
And the medical cost of being overweight can reach $350 annually, which increases to $1,500 a year if a person is obese.
The children in the New York City schools drank more plain water and much less milk at lunchtime during the trial between 2009 and 2013.
But Professor An said this was unlikely to pose any nutritional problems. In an earlier study with adults reported last year, he found little evidence that drinking greater amounts of water negatively impacted participants’ nutrition.
He added: ‘The nutrition profile doesn’t change much when people increase their plain water intake but we do see a significant drop in their saturated fat and sugar intake. While there might potentially be some problems if children consume less whole milk I would say those are probably minor in comparison with the costs associated with the skyrocketing rates of childhood overweight and obesity in the US.’
The water intervention’s projected long-term savings compared favorably with other obesity-prevention policies, including Michelle Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 which cost the federal government $11billion.
Previous research predicted decreased soda consumption could prevent nearly 600,000 cases of child obesity, saving $14.2billion across children’s lifetimes.
And enforcing nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold in schools would prevent 340,000 cases of child obesity, saving $800 million in lifetime costs.
But he school-based water intervention has the potential as a low or moderate-cost obesity-prevention program in developing countries, researchers said.