School Breakfast Program But Not School Lunch Program Participation is Associated with Lower Body Mass Index

The third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III) does not link the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to rates of "overweight or obesity." However, the benefits of participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are not evenly distributed among racial/ethnic groups.

This article used SNDA-III data to explore a possible relationship between rates of overweight and obesity, Body Mass Index (BMI), and participation in school meal programs. A number of interrelated demographic and lifestyle factors complicate data that relates school meal program participation to the weight status of children. This study employed an array of statistical controls to counteract the clouding effects of these factors. Control variables included several measures of student's physical activity level.

Key Findings:

  • Middle school-age, non-Hispanic African-American girls demonstrate significantly higher rates of overweight and obesity than boys of their own race and white and Hispanic girls of the same age group.
  • Participation in SBP can have a significant lowering effect on BMI. The effects of regular participation are concentrated among white students.
  • Children from high-income households tend to have lower BMI than children from low-income backgrounds.

Data on the weight status of participants' biological parents was not available.

Improving Child Nutrition Policy

  1. 1 The Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study
  2. 2 A Practice Perspective on the Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study
  3. 3 Evaluation's Vital Role in Healthier School Meals
  4. 4 Meals Offered and Served in US Public Schools
  5. 5 Nutritional Quality of the Diets of US Public School Children and the Role of the School Meal Programs
  6. 6 Availability and Consumption of Competitive Foods in US Public Schools
  7. 7 School Meals
  8. 8 Consumption of Low-Nutrient, Energy-Dense Foods and Beverages at School, Home, and Other Locations Among School Lunch Participants and Nonparticipants
  9. 9 School Food Environments and Practices Affect Dietary Behaviors of US Public School Children
  10. 10 Association Between School Food Environment and Practices and Body Mass Index of U.S. Public School Children
  11. 11 School Breakfast Program But Not School Lunch Program Participation is Associated with Lower Body Mass Index

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