5 things: Pandemic increased childhood obesity, study finds

In this edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments affecting onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

Childhood obesity rose significantly during the pandemic, according to a new study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), noting that the proportion of 5- to 11-year-olds considered overweight or obese rose from 36% before the pandemic to 45.7% now. The average 5-year-old saw a 12.5% weight gain and the average 11-year-old a 6% weight gain.

"This increased weight gain occurred in all youth between 5 and 17 years but was particularly evident in children ages 5 to 11," said study author Deborah Young, director of behavioral research at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

Read more: Obesity among children ages 5 to 11 rises during the pandemic

George Washington University in Washington DC has announced a plan to transform campus dining from its current retail orientation with its declining balance meal plan approach to all-you-care-to-eat meal swipes at an expanding array of residential dining venues, including the introduction next fall of an unlimited swipe meal plan for first-and second-year students. This fall sees the opening of a redesigned Pelham Commons dining venue on the Mount Vernon campus, to be followed next fall with the expected opening of a 225-seat dining hall in the renovated Thurston Hall on the Foggy Bottom campus and the conversions of the food areas of Shenkman Hall and District House into residential dining halls. The dining venue transformations are being undertaken in partnership with contract firm Chartwells Higher Education,

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Read more: GW to Implement a Transformative Dining Experience

Google has announced that it will postpone its return to offices until Jan. 10, according to a blog post from chief executive Sundar Pichai, joining other major West Coast high tech firms such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple that also have begun reconsidering their plans to fully reopen their offices as the COVID-19 delta variant continues to surge in many parts of the U.S. Google previously delayed its reopening last December and again last July, when it moved its reopening day to Oct. 18.

Read more: Google delays return to office to January

A kitchen worker has filed a lawsuit against the man charged with stabbing her in the Mayo Clinic Hospital cafeteria in May 2019 and also names her employer, Morrison Healthcare, which operates foodservice at Mayo Clinic. The suit, which is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, alleges that Morrison failed to furnish a safe workplace after allowing the man continued keycard access to her work area despite several occasions when he entered the area and made violent threats against her.

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Read more: Woman files lawsuit against man charged with stabbing her at hospital cafeteria

Buffalo State College in New York has opened the first college campus unit of Anchor Bar, the local eatery widely recognized as the restaurant where Buffalo-style chicken wings were first created. The location in Buffalo State's Campbell Student Union will serve a limited menu, including regular and boneless chicken wings, beef-on-weck and several vegetarian items and serve as a late-night option for students, staying open until 10 p.m. every night.

Read more: Buffalo State offers first-ever Anchor Bar on campus

Bonus: Healthcare system enhances menu to better please customer base

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]