Junk food makes you smarter, at least in the short term. A study by University of Florida shows that when schools offer high-calorie lunches on days when students take standardized tests, the students do better than they do when they eat healthier lunches.
The study found that when high-calorie, low-nutrition meals were given to students in schools that faced possible state sanctions for underachievment, scores increased 11% in math, 6% in English and 6% in social studies. Researchers compared the nutritional content of school lunch menus from 23 randomly selected districts in Virginia on days of state-mandated tests and compared them with non-test days during the 1999-2000 school year.
They think students get an energy boost from the estimated 110 calorie increase. Ann Lucas, who plans the menus for some of the schools, says she doesn’t design lunches specifically for testing days, but can see how it might work. She says, ?You obviously can’t produce when you don’t have any energy or glucose floating around.”
What?s in the food we eat? It?s important to find out and Kathleen Hart can help with ?Eating in the Dark,?click here.
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