Although the majority of American middle and high schools sell competitive foods—soft drinks, candy bars, and chips—to students, researchers have found that children’s weight gain between 5th and 8th grades was not associated with exposure to competitive food sales in middle school.
The study, published in the January issue of Sociology of Education, draws on data from the federal Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class.
Researchers said the school environment may dampen the effects of fattening food sales because children’s opportunities to eat in middle school are so highly structured.
