School Breakfast Program Mandates and Childhood Obesity

描述（由申请人提供）：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是一个联邦权利计划，为参加该计划的学校的低收入学生提供补贴早餐。 相当多的研究已经研究了通过SBP吃早餐对营养结果的影响;然而，由于方法上的问题，这项研究的结论通常是有限的。使用全国代表性的数据，从幼儿纵向研究，幼儿园队列（ECLS-K），这个项目利用国家的任务，占在SBP的参与endoadministration。为了增加SBP的参与，许多州规定，如果免费和减价学生的比例超过设定的门槛，学校必须通过SBP提供早餐。这些任务提供了一个机会，探索SBP的影响，使用回归不连续设计，比较学校的学生，免费和减价的合格学生的数量刚刚低于阈值，学校没有被要求提供早餐的学校的学生，免费和减价的合格学生的数量刚刚超过阈值，学校被要求提供早餐。通过本研究设计，本项目将改进现有文献，以确定SBP对儿童肥胖的影响。 具体而言，本研究将（1）评估州政府指令对学校是否参与SBP的影响，（2）检查学校如何按照州政府指令实施SBP，（3）评估学校SBP的可用性对BMI和儿童肥胖的影响，（4）评估州政府指令对低收入儿童参与SBP的影响，（5）评估通过SBP吃早餐对BMI和儿童肥胖的影响，（6）检查通过SBP吃早餐的影响在收入和性别上的差异，（7）检查在学校实施SBP的方法是否增加或减少SBP的影响。 总的来说，本项目将确定SBP和州的任务是否对儿童肥胖产生了因果关系，这些州的任务是如何实施的，谁从SBP和要求一些学校参与的州的任务中受益最大。该项目的结果将有助于向政策制定者提供信息，说明战略计划和通过国家授权扩大战略计划的使用范围如何有助于遏制或扭转儿童肥胖率上升的趋势。 公共卫生相关性：学校早餐计划每年为近1000万在校儿童提供补贴早餐。为了提高学生早餐计划的参与率，许多州要求低收入学生比例高的学校必须通过学生早餐计划提供早餐。该项目将提供新的证据，说明学校早餐计划对儿童肥胖的因果影响，因为国家授权扩大该计划。

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. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides subsidized breakfast to nearly 10 million school children annually. To increase participation in the SBP, many states mandated that schools with a high percentage of low-income students must provide breakfast through the SBP. This project will provide new evidence on the causal effect of the School Breakfast Program on childhood obesity due to the state-mandated expansions of the program.