A study from Virginia Tech has found a connection between school meal participation and obesity in students. From data that predates the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the findings raise questions over whether nutrition standards go far enough.
The research evaluated data from 1998 to 2007, comparing first through eighth grade students who partook in free and reduced-price lunch and those who qualified but opted out. Wen You, associate professor in the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech, says she expected to validate theories that increased breakfast participation would lead to less weight gain. Instead, her study demonstrated that students who also ate school breakfast had a higher probability of being overweight.
“That means the problem isn’t just within the lunch program,” You says. “The whole system needs to be modified to meet the nutrition goals. The original goal of the program was to fight hunger. With the nutrition guidelines evolving, we need a better strategy to accomplish that.”
But You’s analysis didn’t just look at the long-term impacts of school meal participation. She also examined a subgroup of students who bounced in and out of Child Nutrition Programs to examine short-term effects. This subgroup also showed a higher rate of obesity.
Geographical correlations also emerged in the research. In the South, Northeast and rural areas, students in the National School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs experience a higher risk of obesity than other regions.
“I think the biggest message this study tried to convey is there is a big need to improve those standards,” You says. “The new standards are great, and we need more, because the gap seems to be huge. For the schools that struggle with things like whole-grain requirements, we need to find more ways to help them.”