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BYU professor: Changing 1 thing increases students’ fruit, vegetable consumption by 50 percent

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PROVO -- Kids throw away what ends up being millions of dollars in fruits and vegetables daily in schools across the country, but one researcher at BYU may have a solution for schools here in Utah.

"We found that moving recess to before lunch increases the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption by about 50 percent, and it also broadens the base because it increase the fraction of kids eating vegetables by about 45 percent," said Joe Price, who is an Associate Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University.

The reasoning behind the research is that kids feel they are losing recess time by sitting at lunch, so they cut out eating fruits and vegetables in order get out on the playground more quickly.

But, if lunch is after recess, they have time to focus on filling up on the good stuff.

Also, kids work up an appetite during recess. FOX 13 News' Ashton Goodell has more details on this story, see the video above for her report.