School junk food ban works, study finds Banning junk food from
schools actually does have a beneficial effect on students, a
new research study shows. Schools that eliminated junk food from
a la carte lines during school lunch hours have seen an 18
percent reduction in overweight or obese students, according to
a new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The
researchers, Associate Professor of Marketing Patricia Kennedy
and Associate Professor of Finance Mary McGarvey, examined
nutrition policies as well as survey information from students,
parents and administrators at eight Midwestern schools, and then
considered a range of other factors to gauge the effect of
schools’ food policies on students’ weight. The study suggests
expanding the Agriculture Department’s current ban on selling
so-called Foods of Limited Nutritional Value during school meal
times to include all junk food a la carte selections.
Inexplicably, the current department ban doesn’t cover items
such as candy bars, soda, potato chips,