New study evaluates costs of school-based water promotion program

A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides insights into the costs of implementing Water First, a school-based water promotion program shown to prevent overweight in children. Researchers analyzed the program's expenses from the school's perspective over one academic year in six San Francisco Bay Area public schools. The study found that the Water First program cost $20 per student for school-wide interventions—such as installing water stations and dispensers in cafeterias and high-traffic areas and a school-wide water promotion campaign—and $131 per student for classroom-level efforts—including students and teachers receiving reusable water bottles, lesson, and materials for school and home. When accounting for the long-term use of water stations, the annualized cost of the school-wide intervention dropped to $11 per student. These findings offer valuable guidance for schools and policymakers looking to invest in cost-effective strategies that improve student health by increasing access to drinking water. The study was conducted by researchers from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Stanford University, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Rush Medical College, University of California, San Francisco, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (awards K24HL169841 and R01HL129288).