The national school lunch program offers students healthy meals. High schools often offer several alternatives, including salad bars, fresh fruit and � la carte fare, often styled after mall food courts.

But in a big Wasatch Front school, students who stay on campus for such fare might not have enough time to get through the lunch lines, sit down and eat it, said Laura Oscarson-Wilde, director of child nutrition for the State Office of Education. Some schools, she is told, offer as little as 10 minutes to eat.

How long it takes children to eat has been researched by Janet B. Anderson, clinical assistant professor at Utah State University's dietetics program, and a team of other researchers from universities, including Pennsylvania State.

The team found, by timing — literally, with stop-watches — elementary, middle and high school students at lunch, that children need about eight minutes to eat, Anderson said. That's regardless of whether they have recess before or after the lunch period, or how old they are.

"Kids are given enough time to eat," Anderson said. "But they're not given enough time to dine," or eat slowly and socialize. Then again, she adds, school cafeterias aren't really conducive to a dining experience.

Experts, however, question the value of eating a meal in under 10 minutes.

"It takes 20 minutes from when you start eating that the brain gets a signal from the tummy that says, 'Whoa,' " said Debbie Hefner, who is over school foods for Ogden School District. "We're not teaching kids to sit, have conversation and enjoy a meal . . . and pay attention to their nutrition."

Wolfing down food can lead to stomach problems, overeating and dash-dining habits that can transfer to adulthood, school nutrition experts say. Some wonder whether those habits are connected to rising obesity rates.

Perhaps schools should analyze whether their lunch periods are long enough for children to both eat and have a little social time, said Rachel Cox, registered dietician at the health department.

Twenty minutes at the table would suffice, Anderson's team research found.

"Eating needs to be a positive experience — not just stuffing faces and rushing off," Cox said. "If they're in the habit of rushing, they don't focus on eating, how they feel after eating, and whether they're full."

More time to eat also could give students more time to try out things they learn in health classes, like eating more raw fruits and vegetables.

After all, Anderson said, chomping on an apple takes a lot longer than slurping down applesauce.

---

E-MAIL: jtcook@desnews.com