Longer school lunches and more daily activity for elementary students in Anchorage
Official title: Evaluation of a District-Wide Initiative to Improve School Meal Consumption and Physical Activity Levels among Elementary Students in Anchorage, Alaska
Funded at Merrimack College · NIH-11249674 · Data updated 2026-11-12
See if longer lunch periods and extra daily physical activity help elementary students in Anchorage eat more of their school meals and be more active.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Merrimack College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (North Andover, United States) |
| Project start | August 26, 2021 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $215,121 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD107492-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11249674 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are K–4 elementary students enrolled in Anchorage schools involved in the district wellness initiative, including Alaska Native/American Indian children who are disproportionately affected by obesity.
✕Less likely to help
Children who are not in K–4, attend schools outside the Anchorage rollout, or have medical or mobility restrictions that prevent participation may not experience benefit from this program.
What this research studies
This project follows K–4 students in Anchorage as their schools roll out a wellness plan that adds a 30-minute lunch and 54 minutes of daily physical activity (including 30 minutes of recess). Researchers will collect data on what children eat at school using plate-waste measurements from about 4,000 students. A subsample of roughly 2,000 students will wear accelerometers so the team can measure changes in movement and activity. The staggered rollout across schools over four years lets researchers compare students before and after their school adopts the new schedule.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could support school policies that help children eat more at lunch and be more active, which may lower obesity risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous school-based changes like longer recess or lunch are promising but rigorous, large-scale evidence is limited, so this approach is not yet well-established.
Where this research is happening
-
Merrimack College
North Andover, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cohen, Juliana Fw — Merrimack College
- Study coordinator: Cohen, Juliana Fw
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.