Economist Daniel L. Millimet (professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Southern Methodist University Department of Economics), economist Rusty Tchernis (associate professor in Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies), and economist Muna S. Hussain (assistant professor in Kuwait University's Department of Economics), authored a study that links the federal school lunch program to childhood obesity.
The research was reported in the summer issue of The Journal of Human Resources. It is titled "School Nutrition Programs and the Incidence of Childhood Obesity."
The researchers found:
Children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.
Children who eat both the breakfast and lunch sponsored by the federal government are less heavy than children who don't participate in either, and than children who eat only the lunch.
The facts that federally funded school lunches contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic is disconcerting, although not altogether surprising.
The food being served in school lunches may not maintain a healthy weight in children. The food in school breakfasts appears to be healthier.
There is evidence that school lunches are less in compliance with federally established guidelines than breakfasts.
Another possible issue is that these days schools try to make money from a la carte items at lunch.
It is possible that even if the school lunch is healthy, kids buying lunch are more likely to tack on extra items that are not healthy.
The National Student Lunch Program supplies meals to about 30 million children in 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools, according to the USDA.
The School Breakfast Program gives cash assistance to more than 80,000 schools for about 10 million children.
For their study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 13,500 elementary school students. Students were interviewed in kindergarten, first and third grades, and then again in later grades
This is disconcerting as Alabama and Birmingham have received multiple awards recognizing their accomplishments and the nutritional compliance of the school lunch and wellness programs.
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