Report Roundup
Child Nutrition
"Association Between State Laws Governing School Meal Nutrition Content and Student Weight Status"
A new study suggests that new federal school lunch regulations that require more servings of fruits and vegetables, more whole-grain content, less salt and fat, and limits on calories could yield a legion of children from low-income families who escape a trend of childhood obesity.
The study published online last week in JAMA Pediatrics looked at states that had cracked down on the content of school meals even before the new federal standards took effect this school year. A smaller share of students who received free or reduced-price lunches that had to meet the higher nutritional standards—about 12 percentage points less—were overweight than among students who did not eat school lunches.
In states where state rules about school meals didn't go beyond existing federal requirements, students who received free or reduced-price lunches were about twice as likely to be obese as students who didn't eat school lunch—26 percent versus 14 percent. The study looks at 2006-07 school year data for 4,870 8th graders in 40 states.
Vol. 32, Issue 28, Page 5
Access selected articles, e-newsletters and more!
Viewed
Emailed
Recommended
Commented
Sponsored Whitepapers
• Best Practices in Information Management, Reporting and Analytics for Education
- Chief Innovation Officer
- The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®), Washington, DC
- Common Core Literacy Assessment Developer - Part Time
- The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, New York, NY
- Instructional Leadership Director
- ALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Albany, NY
- Principal - Chicago Metro Area West
- The Menta Group, Hillside, IL
- MINNEAPOLIS ACADEMY Executive Director
- MINNEAPOLIS ACADEMY, Minneapolis, MN



We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.