Students prefer juice over milk and water: Study

Washington: According to a recent study, High school students are more likely to choose Juice over milk, whole fruit, and water.

High school students participating in school meal programs are less likely to select milk, whole fruit, and water when fruit juice is available, which on balance may decrease the nutritional quality of their lunches, the research suggests.

“Our findings suggest that on the days when juice is available as a choice in high school lunches, students do not select whole fruit and milk as often. This is a problem because compared to juice, milk and whole fruit are better sources of three nutrients of concern for adolescents – calcium, vitamin D, and fiber” said Marlene Schwartz, co-author of the study.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, utilized cafeteria register data from 3 low-income, Northeast high schools over one school year to determine whether high school students select different meal options on days when juice is available.

The study also looked at the sales of a la carte beverages, which included both water and 100% juice.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]