Pre-Ordering School Lunch Encourages Better Food Choices by Children

This study, accepted for publication at Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, examines whether having students pre-order their entrée (main dish) improves the healthfulness of entrées selected for lunch.

When students pre-ordered their entrée, 29.4% selected the healthier entrée compared to
15.3% when pre-ordering was not available. Conversely, the less-healthy entrée was chosen
70.8% of the time by students who pre-ordered, and students who ordered in the lunch line
selected the less-healthy entrée 85.7% of the time. When students did not order but instead
selected their entrée as they entered the lunchline, it appears that hunger-based, spontaneous
selection diminished healthy entrée selection by 48% and increased less-healthy entrée selection
by 21%.