In a pilot health program, self-serve water dispensers were installed in the cafeterias of many elementary and middle schools in New York City. Researchers found that the water dispensers tripled students’ consumption of water at lunchtime and led to small but significant declines in students’ risks of being overweight one year later. The report suggests that the availability of water lessens intake of food and reduce the number of overweight or obese children, which could potentially save billions in medical care costs for students going into maturity.
Encouraging children to drink water with every meal reduces childhood obesity
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