Debit-Only Lunches for Kids Create more Unhealthy Options

Having a debit account during your school years may seem cool, but a recent study shows that school debit accounts can actually lead to less healthy food choices.

Researchers at Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab found that schools that used debit systems without the option of paying with cash often had lunches with fewer fruit and vegetable based meals and other unhealthy items.

Lead study authors David Just, Ph.D., and Brian Wansink, Ph.D., examined the lunch purchases of 2,314 students in grades 1 through 12 in order to see how payment methods impacted food choice.

The study shows that in schools that completely converted to debit systems, fruit purchases were 13 percent lower and vegetable purchases were 20 percent lower. Students at debit-only schools also were more likely to purchase less healthy food options, including desserts, candy and/or fried foods. In fact, the study shows that lunches of students at debit-only schools contained 63 more calories from less healthy foods and 32 fewer calories from healthier options.

The researchers note that the degree of parental guidance at lunchtime may be partly responsible for this phenomenon. They conclude with the following, via a press release: "When parents give children a certain amount of cash for lunch each day, they can monitor their kids' daily expenditure more closely, resulting in better lunch choices. Debit systems, however, eliminate the restrictions of a daily cash allowance, providing kids the opportunity to spend their lunch money as they please-with unhealthy consequences. A debit system which allows parents to set daily limits or food-specific restrictions may be an ideal compromise between convenience and guidance. Alternative methods-like the implementation of a "cash for cookies" rule- can nudge kids towards healthier foods by making them pause before impulse-purchasing less healthy options."

More information regarding this study can be found via the journal Obesity.