While healthy school lunches are by no means a magic bullet in combating childhood obesity, a recent study has found that increased offerings of fruits and vegetables at school do make a measurable difference in kids' consumption of these foods.

To gauge the effectiveness of government rules regarding the of the contents of school lunches, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago tracked the eating habits of 9,574 students in 27 states.

What they found is that students who lived in states requiring a minimum number of fruit and vegetable servings in school lunches consumed significantly more fruit and vegetables than students in other states.

The difference was especially pronounced for kids who lacked access to fruits and vegetables at home.

Read More:

• State Laws Governing School Meals and Disparities in Fruit/Vegetable Intake (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
• Vista students pile on healthy lunches (Taylorsville Kearns Journal)
• Elementary Students Will Receive Fresh Fruits and Veggies Every Day (RomeovillePatch)