New research out of the University of Illinois, Chicago suggests that students in states with laws that strongly restrict junk food and sugared beverage sales in schools gain less weight than those in states that have no such laws—or even where the laws have weaker, less specific language. Research is published in the journal Pediatrics.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one-fifth of American children are obese, and policy experts have been struggling to find an approach that works for several years. Although the results are by no means huge, this study offers the first hope that public policy can do something about the obesity epidemic.
Researchers used a legal database to classify state laws regarding food sales in schools that take place outside the school’s normal breakfast and lunch programs, including vending machines and snack bars. These food sales are termed “competitive” food sales because they compete with sales by the school.
States were deemed to have “strong laws” if the laws identified specific nutritional standards. “Weak laws,” on the other hand, might offer advice about foods—they should be “healthy,” for example—but contained no more specific language.
In the study, the heights and weights of 6,300 children in 40 states were measured in fifth grade in 2004 and then in eighth grade in 2007. Their states of residence were classified as having no laws, weak laws, or strong laws in 2003 and in 2006.
Researchers plotted the change in body mass index (BMI) between fifth and eighth grade against the change in strength of the state’s laws between the years before the BMI was determined. The highlight:
The average 5-foot, 100-pound child living in a state with strong laws gained 2.25 fewer pounds between fifth and eighth grade than a child from a state with no policies. This translates to 0.44 BMI units in the general case.
The study’s authors also said children who were overweight or obese in fifth grade were more likely to reach a healthier weight by eighth grade if the laws in the state were strong. However, data on this finding was marred by other factors, including some variance in the effect the change in laws had on different weight classes. Other statistical methods may be able to account for this variance in the future.
Well, I’d like to think we could just make a law and fix the obesity problem in America, but competitive food sales in schools have such a small impact on what kids eat. Much of what they eat doesn’t come from the school, and although the study controlled for diversity in race, socioeconomic status, and other factors by using statistics, there is still a tremendous difference between food choices available to different subgroups.