Study: Free School Meals Linked to Reduction in Childhood Obesity
2024-04-03
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1Research published in March found that a free meal program in schools was connected with a reduction in childhood obesity in the United States.
2Anna Localio and Jessica Jones-Smith from the University of Washington are two of the researchers who studied the health effects of nutrition-related policies.
3Their study was published last month in the medical publication Pediatrics.
4The two wrote in The Conversation about their research on a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
5That program, started in 2014, permits schools in high-poverty areas to provide free meals in the morning and noon to all their students.
6In 1946, the U.S. created the National School Lunch Program aiming to protect the health and well-being of American children.
7Participating schools were required to provide free or reduced-price meals at noon, called lunches, to children from eligible families.
8Eligibility is determined by income based on federal poverty levels.
9The School Breakfast Program came in 1966.
10It provides free, reduced-price, and full-price breakfasts, or meals in the morning, to students.
11The Community Eligibility Provision permits all students in a school to receive free breakfast and lunch, instead of determining eligibility by individual families.
12Entire schools or school systems are eligible for free lunches if at least 40 percent of their students are directly eligible to receive free meals.
13Localio and Jones-Smith say the CEP increases school meal participation by "reducing the stigma" linked to receiving free meals.
14During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government expanded the program to more school systems across the country.
15By the 2022-23 school year, over 40,000 schools were participating, an increase of more than 20 percent over the prior year.
16The researchers examined whether providing free meals at school through CEP was connected with lower childhood obesity before the pandemic.
17To do this, they measured changes in obesity from 2013 to 2019 among 3,531 California schools in poorer communities.
18The researchers used over 3.5 million body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade that were taken yearly and combined at the school level.
19BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
20The researchers looked at differences between schools that participated in the program and eligible schools that did not.
21They followed the same schools over time, comparing obesity among students before and after the policy change.
22The researchers found that schools participating in the CEP program had a 2.4 percent reduction in levels of obesity in students compared with eligible schools that did not participate in the program.
23Localio and Jones-Smith wrote that "even small improvements in obesity levels are notable because effective strategies to reduce obesity at a population level remain elusive."
24They added that because obesity affects poor and minority children more than others, this policy could help to reduce health inequalities.
25The CEP likely reduces the amount of obesity by substituting up to half of a child's weekly diet with healthier food, the research found.
26Research has shown that school meals can be healthier than meals from other sources, including meals at home.
27One study found that school meals provide the best diet quality of any major U.S. food source.
28At the same time, the free meals save about $4.70 a day per child or $850 per year.
29For low and middle-income families, this could result in savings that can be used for other healthy goods or services.
30Childhood obesity has been increasing over the past several decades.
31Obesity often continues into adulthood and is linked to many health conditions and early death.
32Growing research shows the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children.
33Along with the study of California schools, other researchers have found an association between universal free school meals and reduced obesity in Chile, South Korea and Britain.
34Studies have also linked the CEP program to improvements in school performance and reductions in suspensions.
35Universal free meals policies may slow the rise in childhood obesity rates, "but they alone will not be enough to reverse these trends," Localio and Jones-Smith say.
36Alongside free meals, identifying other strategies to reduce obesity among children is necessary to address this public health issue, they say.
37I'm Dan Friedell.
38And I'm Anna Mateo.
1Research published in March found that a free meal program in schools was connected with a reduction in childhood obesity in the United States. 2Anna Localio and Jessica Jones-Smith from the University of Washington are two of the researchers who studied the health effects of nutrition-related policies. Their study was published last month in the medical publication Pediatrics. 3The two wrote in The Conversation about their research on a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). That program, started in 2014, permits schools in high-poverty areas to provide free meals in the morning and noon to all their students. 4History of free school meals 5In 1946, the U.S. created the National School Lunch Program aiming to protect the health and well-being of American children. Participating schools were required to provide free or reduced-price meals at noon, called lunches, to children from eligible families. Eligibility is determined by income based on federal poverty levels. 6The School Breakfast Program came in 1966. It provides free, reduced-price, and full-price breakfasts, or meals in the morning, to students. 7The Community Eligibility Provision permits all students in a school to receive free breakfast and lunch, instead of determining eligibility by individual families. Entire schools or school systems are eligible for free lunches if at least 40 percent of their students are directly eligible to receive free meals. 8Localio and Jones-Smith say the CEP increases school meal participation by "reducing the stigma" linked to receiving free meals. 9During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government expanded the program to more school systems across the country. By the 2022-23 school year, over 40,000 schools were participating, an increase of more than 20 percent over the prior year. 10Research on the effects of free meals 11The researchers examined whether providing free meals at school through CEP was connected with lower childhood obesity before the pandemic. 12To do this, they measured changes in obesity from 2013 to 2019 among 3,531 California schools in poorer communities. The researchers used over 3.5 million body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade that were taken yearly and combined at the school level. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. 13The researchers looked at differences between schools that participated in the program and eligible schools that did not. They followed the same schools over time, comparing obesity among students before and after the policy change. 14The researchers found that schools participating in the CEP program had a 2.4 percent reduction in levels of obesity in students compared with eligible schools that did not participate in the program. 15Localio and Jones-Smith wrote that "even small improvements in obesity levels are notable because effective strategies to reduce obesity at a population level remain elusive." 16They added that because obesity affects poor and minority children more than others, this policy could help to reduce health inequalities. 17The CEP likely reduces the amount of obesity by substituting up to half of a child's weekly diet with healthier food, the research found. 18Research has shown that school meals can be healthier than meals from other sources, including meals at home. One study found that school meals provide the best diet quality of any major U.S. food source. 19At the same time, the free meals save about $4.70 a day per child or $850 per year. For low and middle-income families, this could result in savings that can be used for other healthy goods or services. 20Expanding access to school meals 21Childhood obesity has been increasing over the past several decades. Obesity often continues into adulthood and is linked to many health conditions and early death. 22Growing research shows the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children. Along with the study of California schools, other researchers have found an association between universal free school meals and reduced obesity in Chile, South Korea and Britain. 23Studies have also linked the CEP program to improvements in school performance and reductions in suspensions. 24Universal free meals policies may slow the rise in childhood obesity rates, "but they alone will not be enough to reverse these trends," Localio and Jones-Smith say. Alongside free meals, identifying other strategies to reduce obesity among children is necessary to address this public health issue, they say. 25I'm Dan Friedell. 26And I'm Anna Mateo. 27Anna Localio and Jessica Jones-Smith wrote this story for The Conversation. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. 28__________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30obesity - n. fat in a way that is unhealthy 31eligible - n. able to be chosen for something 32stigma - n. a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something 33strategy - n. a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time 34elusive - adj. hard to find or capture 35income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.