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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingWith all the attention these days on child obesity levels, schools are placing a very high emphasis on fitness and healthy eating. One school in Davis County is teaching kids healthy habits by giving them food all day long.
Many schools have a rule of no eating in class, but not Sunset Elementary. There, kids eat healthy snacks at the end of certain classes and recess.
Devin Holland, 6th Grader: "They talk about the different fruits and vegetables. We get to try new ones, they talk about where they came from."
Today students are eating pears and English cucumbers.
Cheyenne Tanner, 6th Grader: "I think it's gonna help me be healthier and stronger, and they taste good too."
The fruits and vegetable snack program is part of a larger health effort at the school. It starts with breakfast for every child the first 15 minutes of school.
Don Beatty, Sunset Elem. Principal: "Less than 50% of kids eat breakfast in our country."
The principal at Sunset says the food makes the kids more productive in class because they're not hungry and can focus easier. Plus, it's helped attendance.
Don Beatty: "Kids who typically are late or tardy, now they're here on time because they want to have breakfast."
The school has also switched the afternoon recess to before lunch instead of after, so kids aren't rushing through lunch to get to recess.
Cheyenne Tanner: "We go out and work up an appetite. So when we go in, we eat more food and aren't throwing away as much."
The kids at Sunset Elementary actually eat more throughout the day, but that's the point. When they have several healthy snacks, they won't go home hungry and binge.
