Perceptions change in a taste test for a Jarrett Middle School class project
Skim milk has more. Taste, that is.
In a blind milk taste in one of Jarrett Middle School's classes, just about every student preferred the taste of 1 percent or skim milk.
"They liked the taste of 1 percent or less," said Alice Silbanuz, Healthy Hawaii Initiative public and professional education coordinator. The blind test was held by the state Department of Health's Healthy Hawaii Initiative team.
"They really like the skim milk, which is really surprising. That's why we do the taste test -- to overcome the hesitation, the thinking that they don't like the milk," she said.
One boy said he liked the skim milk and would switch, Silbanuz said.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jarrett Middle School students, clockwise from top left, Kiakahi Kekoa, Tiana Kono, Michael Shibata, Silia Tuipulootu...
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Students from a Jarrett seventh-grade class wore dark shades and sampled milk in four different fat levels per 8-ounce serving: skim (0 percent fat); 1 percent (1.5 grams); 2 percent (3 grams); whole (5 grams).
All but one of the 16 students who participated in the blind test chose 1 percent or skim milk, Sibanuz said, and only one of them correctly identified all four milks in the test.
The Healthy Hawaii Initiative Team visited Jarrett and touted the health benefits of 1 percent milk. Students learned that whole milk contains the fat equivalent of five strips of bacon. And they were shown vials filled with candle wax to represent amounts of fat.
Jarrett Middle School is dedicated to making teaching of health standards and health education a priority, Silbanuz said.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
...Damien Toriki, Kayla Halemano, Bich-Duyen Pham and Guile Chong participated yesterday in a blind taste test of milk at Jarrett Middle School held by the state Department of Health's Healthy Hawaii Initiative team.
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Health teacher Cathy Kaho'ohanohano said a study done four years ago showed Jarrett students had a higher obesity rate than the national average.
The health team told the youngsters that saturated fats are the primary cause of heart disease, and that studies show the onset of heart disease can begin as young as age 10, Silbanuz said.
The campaign encourages gradual change in making the switch to skim or one percent milk.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends switching to 1 percent or less, Silbanuz said.