School Breakfast Program Mandates and Childhood Obesity

描述(由申请者提供)：本项目的总体目标是调查通过学校早餐计划(SBP)吃早餐对儿童肥胖的影响。SBP是一项联邦福利计划，为参加该计划的学校的低收入学生提供补贴早餐。已经有相当多的研究考察了通过SBP吃早餐对营养结果的影响；然而，由于方法学上的考虑，这项研究的结论通常是有限的。该项目使用来自幼儿纵向研究的具有全国代表性的数据--幼儿园队列(ECLS-K)，并利用国家授权来解释参与SBP的内生性。为了增加对SBP的参与，许多州要求，如果符合免费和降价资格的学生的百分比超过设定的门槛，学校必须通过SBP提供早餐。这些任务提供了探索SBP影响的机会，使用回归不连续设计来比较符合免费和降价资格的学生人数略低于门槛的学校的学生，以及学校不被要求向符合免费和降价资格的学生人数略高于门槛且学校被要求提供早餐的学校的学生。通过这项研究设计，该项目将在现有文献的基础上改进，以确定SBP对儿童肥胖的影响。具体地说，这项研究将(1)评估国家规定对学校是否参与SBP的影响，(2)检查学校如何按照国家规定执行SBP，(3)评估学校提供SBP对体重指数和儿童肥胖症的影响，(4)评估国家规定对低收入儿童参与SBP的影响，(5)评估通过SBP吃早餐对BMI和儿童肥胖症的影响，(6)按收入和性别检查通过SBP吃早餐的影响差异，以及(7)考察在学校实施SBP的方法是否增加或减少了SBP的影响。总体而言，该项目将确定SBP和州规定是否对儿童肥胖症产生了因果影响，这些州规定是如何实施的，以及谁从SBP和要求一些学校参与的州规定中受益最大。该项目的结果将有助于政策制定者了解SBP和通过国家授权扩大获得SBP的机会如何有助于遏制或扭转儿童肥胖率上升的趋势。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall aim of this project is to investigate the impact of eating breakfast through the School Breakfast Program (SBP) on childhood obesity. The SBP is a federal entitlement program that offers subsidized breakfast to low-income students who attend a school that participates in the program. A considerable body of research has examined the impact of eating breakfast through the SBP on nutrition outcomes; however, the conclusions from this research are generally limited due to methodological concerns. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and this project utilizes state mandates to account for the endogeneity of participation in the SBP. To increase participation in the SBP, many states mandated that schools must provide breakfast through the SBP if the percent of free and reduced-price eligible students exceeds a set threshold. These mandates present the opportunity to explore the impact of the SBP using a regression discontinuity design to compare students in schools where the number of free and reduced-price eligible students is just below the threshold and the school was not required to offer breakfast to students in schools where the number of free and reduced-price eligible students is just above the threshold and the school was required to offer breakfast. Through this research design, this project will improve upon the existing literature to determine the influence of the SBP on childhood obesity. Specifically, this research will (1) evaluate the impact of state mandates on whether schools participate in the SBP, (2) examine how schools implement the SBP in compliance with the state mandates, (3) evaluate the impact of the availability of the SBP in schools on BMI and childhood obesity, (4) evaluate the impact of state mandates on the participation of low-income children in the SBP, (5) evaluate the impact of eating breakfast through the SBP on BMI and childhood obesity, (6) examine differences in the impact of eating breakfast through the SBP by income and gender, and (7) examine whether the method of implementing the SBP in the school augments or diminishes the impact of the SBP. Overall, this project will identify whether the SBP and state mandates have had a causal effect on childhood obesity, how these state mandates are implemented and who benefits the most from the SBP and the state mandates requiring some schools to participate. The results from this project will serve to inform policymakers how the SBP and the expanded access to the SBP through state mandates may help in arresting or reversing the trend towards greater rates of childhood obesity.