Some New York City schools found that the installation of large water dispensers in their elementary and middle schools was linked to a decrease in student BMI, according to new findings.
Researchers assumed that adding a healthier option to school hallways and lunchrooms might help reduce student BMIs, so they put their hypothesis to the test. Large electrically-cooled water fountains were installed in a group of elementary and middle schools across New York City, and those schools were compared to similar control schools without the dispensers. Researchers tracked baseline BMI scores and again at the end of the five-year study.
Water and BMI
After looking at the data from their study, researchers uncovered:
- Compared to pre-installation baseline, the mean BMI was lower by 0.025 points in males and 0.022 in females in schools that installed the water dispensers, after adjusting for changes seen in control schools.
- Risk of becoming overweight was lower by 0.9 percentage points in boys and 0.6 percentage points in girls in schools that adopted the water dispensers when adjusted for changes in nonparticipating schools.
Co-author Dr. Brian Elbel of the NYU School of Medicine in New York City said the impact of the water dispensers on student BMI was “small, but meaningful,” and it comes at a relatively low cost.
“In the scheme of things, these are real changes particularly for such a low-cost intervention,” said. Dr. Elbel. “If this thing really is working, it should be easy to do in lots of different schools.”
Researchers also noted that the water dispensers had a noticeable affect on milk consumption, as they believe more kids are swapping out chocolate milk for H20.
“I was not shocked by the BMI reduction observed in this study, as it was noted that inclusion of the water bubbler meant less chocolate milk consumption,” said Skylar Griggs, a clinical nutrition specialist at the Children’s Hospital in Boston. “Chocolate milk may still be milk, but if you break it down by sugar, it contains 5 packets of sugar in 1 serving.”
In the end, it’s like we’ve said on other blogs – Swap out the sugary sodas and chocolate milk products for a refreshing glass of water, and your body will thank you for it.
Related source: MedPage Today