Junk Food In Schools Not to Blame for Weight Gain Among Children

Junk Food In Schools Not to Blame for Weight Gain Among Children

A new study suggests that middle school students’ weight gain has nothing to do with the candy, soda, chips, and other junk food they can purchase at school.

The study relies on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, which follows a nationally representative sample of students from the fall of kindergarten through the spring of eighth grade (the 1998-1999 through 2006-2007 schools years).

Van Hook said, "In that light, we expected to find a definitive connection between the sale of junk food in middle schools and weight gain among children between fifth and eighth grades. But, our study suggests that–when it comes to weight issues–we need to be looking far beyond schools and, more specifically, junk food sales in schools, to make a difference."

According to Van Hook, policies need to concentrate more on the home and family environments as well as the broader environments outside of school.

Additionally, “Kids are actually very busy at school. So, there really isn't a lot of opportunity for children to eat while they're in school, or at least eat endlessly, compared to when they're at home. As a result, whether or not junk food is available to them at school may not have much bearing on how much junk food they eat."

The study results also intimate that when it comes to combating childhood obesity and weight issues, policymakers should put more emphasis on younger children, Van Hook said. "There has been a lot of research showing that many children develop eating habits and tastes for certain types of foods when they are of preschool age, and that those habits and tastes may stay with them for their whole lives," Van Hook said. "So, their middle school environments might not matter a lot."

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday January 18 2012, 3:48 AM EDT. Ref: Van Hook, et al. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0