On a day in May, they put photographs of carrots and green beans into the tray compartments. The number of children who served themselves green beans increased significantly, from about 6 percent to 15 percent. More children served themselves carrots, too, with an increase from about 12 percent to 37 percent, though the amount eaten by each of the children who took the carrots declined slightly.
The authors said the photos provide a low-cost way of increasing vegetable consumption among children, but acknowledged more research is needed.
BOTTOM LINE: Putting photos of vegetables in school lunch trays, at a cost of $3 per 100 trays, increased the likelihood that children would serve themselves the items shown.
CAUTIONS: The study was small, involving just two days in one school. And overall amounts of vegetables consumed remained below federal recommendations.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Journal of the American Medical Association, online Feb. 1
Test promising for diagnosing major depressive disorder
Researchers, including some from Massachusetts General Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance, say they may have found something scientists have spent decades looking for: a blood test that could be used in diagnosing depression.
The researchers recruited 36 patients, ages 18 to 65, diagnosed with major depressive disorder, from their institutions, which included Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee. Forty-three non-depressed patients were recruited from St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.
