Effect of School Snack-bar Portions 'Weighed'

CNRC research Dr. Karen Cullen recently calculated the potential calorie-saving effect of scaling back middle school snack-bar portion sizes to 'pre-supersize' levels.

Using actual sales data from 23 Texas middle school snack bars, Cullen determined that students would have consumed an average of 45 fewer calories per day if snack bars had sold 1.25-ounce instead of 3.75-ounce bags of chips and 12-ounce cans rather than 20-ounce bottles of sweetened beverages.

Reducing caloric intake by just 45 calories per day is equivalent to preventing up to two pounds of excess weight gain per child over the school year.

"Reducing snack-food portion sizes is an easy but significant step toward making the school eating environment healthier for children," Cullen said.

Editor's Note:  Cullen recently presented her work at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity Conference held in Las Vegas in November 2004.