PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study: Pay kids to eat fruits and vegetables

Small rewards bring less waste, better results than new school lunch rule

2013-12-17
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Joe Hadfield
joe_hadfield@byu.edu
801-422-9206
Brigham Young University
Study: Pay kids to eat fruits and vegetables Small rewards bring less waste, better results than new school lunch rule

The good news: Research suggests that a new federal rule has prompted the nation's schools to serve an extra $5.4 million worth of fruits and vegetables each day.

The bad news: The nation's children throw about $3.8 million of that in the garbage each day.

Researchers from Brigham Young University and Cornell observed three schools adjust to new school lunch standards that require a serving of fruits or vegetables on every student's tray – whether the child intends to eat it or not. As they report in the December issue of Public Health Nutrition, students discarded 70 percent of the extra fruits and vegetables.

"We saw a minor increase in kids eating the items, but there are other ways to achieve the same goal that are much, much cheaper," said BYU economics professor Joe Price.

Strange as it sounds, directly paying students to eat a fruit or vegetable is less expensive and gets better results.

With Cornell's David Just, Price conducted a second study to measure the effect of small rewards in the lunchroom. The week-long experiments took on different twists in the 15 different schools – some could earn a nickel, others a quarter, and others a raffle ticket for a larger prize. But the results were generally the same. As the scholars report in The Journal of Human Resources, offering small rewards increased the fruit and vegetable consumption by 80 percent. And the amount of wasted food declined by 33 percent.

Which begs the question: Is benevolent bribery a better way?

"Parents are often misguided about incentives," Price said. "We feel a sense of dirtiness about a bribe. But rewards can be really powerful if the activity creates a new skill or changes preferences."

The case against using bribes in parenting is perhaps best articulated in Alfie Kohn's 1999 book "Punished by Rewards." In many scenarios, the use of rewards can crush internal motivation. With healthy eating, for example, some fear that prizes will prevent children from developing their own motivation to eat things that are good for them. Another danger, known as a boomerang effect, is the possibility that some children would eat less fruits and vegetables when the rewards disappeared.

That's why Price and Just measured fruit and vegetable consumption before and after the week-long experiments. When the week of prizes ended, students went back to the same level of fruit and vegetable consumption as before – no lasting improvement, but no boomerang effect either.

Now the researchers are studying whether extending the experiments over three to five weeks might yield lasting change. So far things look promising.

"I don't think we should give incentives such a bad rap," Price said. "They should be considered part of a set of tools we can use."



INFORMATION:

The first study documenting the impact of the new rule appears in the December 2013 issue of Public Health Nutrition. The second study is titled "Using Incentives to Encourage Healthy Eating in Children" and is available to subscribers of The Journal of Human Resources. An earlier version of the paper is available at Price's website.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study indicates oral garlic not useful in treating vaginal thrush

2013-12-17
Study indicates oral garlic not useful in treating vaginal thrush Led by University of Melbourne PhD candidate Cathy Watson also of the Royal Women's Hospital, the findings were published online in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. This ...

Controlling levels of reactive oxygen species breaks cycle of wounds that have refused to heal

2013-12-17
Controlling levels of reactive oxygen species breaks cycle of wounds that have refused to heal Antioxidant supplements reduce levels of oxygen radicals within chronically infected wounds & weaken biofilm ...

Overworked cellular machines may explain Gaucher disease link to Parkinson's disease

2013-12-17
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Dec-2013 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Cathy Yarbrough cyarbrough@ascb.org 858-243-1814 John Fleischman jfleischman@ascb.org American Society for Cell Biology Overworked cellular machines may explain Gaucher disease link to Parkinson's disease Dopamine-producing cells die as result of cascade triggered by busy enzyme degradation cellular machines Scientists have ...

Injured nerves regrow when fidgetin enzyme is suppressed

2013-12-17
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Dec-2013 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Cathy Yarbrough cyarbrough@ascb.org 858-243-1814 John Fleischman jfleischman@ascb.org American Society for Cell Biology Injured nerves regrow when fidgetin enzyme is suppressed Fidgetin inhibition: Potential new therapeutic approach to promote tissue regeneration & repair of broken cell connections Suppressing the enzyme ...

Discovery of 'teen gene' could hold promise for combating severe mental illnesses

2013-12-17
Discovery of 'teen gene' could hold promise for combating severe mental illnesses Gene involved in adolescent brain development may play a role in mental health vulnerability As many parents of mentally ill adults ...

Epidemic of Escherichia coli infections traced to 1 strain of bacteria

2013-12-17
Epidemic of Escherichia coli infections traced to 1 strain of bacteria Fast-evolving lethal clone spreads worldwide, according to new study published today WASHINGTON, D.C., and FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Dec. 17, ...

New hope for stem cells, regenerative medicine emerges from the lab

2013-12-17
New hope for stem cells, regenerative medicine emerges from the lab VIDEO: This is the JoVE video article, "In vivo Reprogramming of Adult ...

MRSA strain gained dominance with help from skin bacteria

2013-12-17
MRSA strain gained dominance with help from skin bacteria Scientists believe they have an explanation for how the most common strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rapidly rose to prominence. Research published in mBio®, the online open-access ...

Massive stars mark out Milky Way's 'missing' arms

2013-12-17
Massive stars mark out Milky Way's 'missing' arms A 12-year study of massive stars has reaffirmed that our Galaxy has four spiral arms, following years of debate sparked by images taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope that only showed two arms. The new research, ...

Feinstein Institute researchers show a genetic overlap in schizophrenia and cognitive ability

2013-12-17
Feinstein Institute researchers show a genetic overlap in schizophrenia and cognitive ability MANHASSET, NY – Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered for the first time, direct evidence of a genetic overlap ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Uniting the light spectrum on a chip

Hundreds of new bacteria, and two potential antibiotics, found in soil

Smells deceive the brain – are interpreted as taste

New species survival commission fills critical gap in conservation

New conservation committee led by Applied Microbiology International calls on science community to get on board with microbial conservation

Scientists uncover key stabilizing role of small molecules

“Black Hole Stars” could solve JWST riddle of overly massive early galaxies

Mysterious ‘red dots’ in early universe may be ‘black hole star’ atmospheres

A gene mutation found in East Asian people increases liver disease risk by an ‘aldehyde storm’

Artificial intelligence‑assisted conductive hydrogel dressings for refractory wounds monitoring

Scalable fabrication of methylammonium‑free wide‑bandgap perovskite solar cells by blade coating in ambient air

Wearable devices could revolutionize pregnancy monitoring and detect abnormalities

Efficient cation recognition strategies for cationic compounds

US COVID-19 school closures were not cost-effective, but other non-pharmaceutical interventions were, new study finds

Human activities linked to declines of big seeds

North-south autism assessment divide leaves children waiting three years longer 

Want to publish in Nature? Webinar with Prof. Willie Peijnenburg shares insider tips

Cataract surgery on both eyes can be carried out safely and effectively in one go

Personalized brain stimulation shows benefit for depression

AI uncovers hidden rules of some of nature’s toughest protein bonds

Innovative approach helps new mothers get hepatitis C treatment

Identifying the Interactions That Drive Cell Migration in Brain Cancer

ORNL receives 2025 SAMPE Organizational Excellence Award

University of Oklahoma researchers aim to reduce indigenous cancer disparities

Study reveals new evidence, cost savings for common treatments for opioid use disorder in mothers and infants

Research alert: Frequent cannabis users show no driving impairment after two-day break

Turbulence with a twist

Volcanic emissions of reactive sulfur gases may have shaped early mars climate, making it more hospitable to life

C-Path concludes 2025 Global Impact Conference with progress across rare diseases, neurology and pediatrics

Research exposes far-reaching toll of financial hardship on patients with cancer

[Press-News.org] Study: Pay kids to eat fruits and vegetables
Small rewards bring less waste, better results than new school lunch rule