A new study suggests that making water available in school cafeterias results in a moderate decrease in the weight of overweight school children, Lationos Health reports.
The report was published in JAMA Pediatrics.
The school cafeterias that are provided with water jet machines witnessed a slight but significant decrease in the BMI and overweight rates of students, as reported by Time.
The high-tech water fountains are strategically placed in cafeterias where students can easily access them. Also, the machines conveniently dispense the water into cups, so the students do not have to bring their own cups or water bottles.
New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Education placed the water jets in school cafeterias in 2009. The department has also removed sugary and artificially treated drinks.
For the study, the researchers collected data on more than 1,200 New York City elementary and middle schools. Of these, 483 had water jets in their cafeteria.
The study reported that in school with water jets, the risk of boys becoming overweight was decreased by 0.9 percent while the risk for girls was decreased by 0.6 percent.
Brian Elbel, the lead researcher who is an associate professor of population health and health policy at New York University School of Medicine said, "This is a small effect, but we are looking for anything that might be working for childhood obesity, and this is a low-cost intervention", Philly reports.
Elbel believes that the modest decrease in weight is the result of kids choosing water over other drinks like milk, sodas or juices.
"If you are drinking water, then you are not drinking something else that has more calories in it," he said, Philly reports
He said that the decrease in weight is caused by the availability of water, rather than the presence of water jets in schools.
