School Lunches Promote Obesity

Steve - more data proving why the current legislation for school lunch reform needs to pass. The following was funded by the USDA!

New research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight. The new study was published in the Summer issue of The Journal of Human Resources.

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. "First, it is very difficult to plan healthy but inviting school lunches at a low price," the lead researcher said. "Second, given the tight budgets faced by many school districts, funding from the sales of unhealthy a la carte lunch items receives high priority."