Banning vending machines from schools can actually increase soda and fast food consumption among students if it is the only school food policy change implemented, according to research conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The study, published online in the journal PLOS ONE, looked exclusively at regular soda consumption — not diet soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages — and fast food. The authors are analyzing other sugar-sweetened beverages in an independent, ongoing study.

The researchers wanted to find out if having vending machines in schools affected daily intake of soda and eating unhealthy fast foods outside of school when combined with other factors such as state tax rates and soda bans in schools. The study included 8,245 high school students in 27 states. To read more, click here.