# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the quality of school lunch affects students' academic performance | Brookings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The main goal of the law was to raise the minimum nutritional standards for public school lunches served as part of the National School Lunch Program. The policy discussion surrounding the new law centered on the underlying health reasons for offering more nutritious school [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger Free Schools, School Year 2022-2023

finds that the number of schools participating in community eligibility grew by 15.8 percent from the 2021-2022 school year 20 million children in 40,235 schools and 6,419 school districts are participating and have access to school breakfast and lunch at no charge.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
National School Lunch Program - Food Research & Action Center

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger Free Schools, School Year 2022-2023 finds that the number of schools participating in community eligibility grew by 15.8 percent from the 2021-2022 school year 20 million children in 40,235 schools and 6,419 school districts are participating and have access to school breakfast and lunch at no charge.

# data[].attributes.headline
New Study Offers Hints that Healthier School Lunch Reduces Obesity

# data[].attributes.subject
New Study Offers Hints that Healthier School Lunch Reduces Obesity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 2010 federal law that boosted nutrition standards for school meals may have begun to help slow the rise in obesity among America's children - even teenagers who can buy their own snacks, a new study showed.

The national study found a small but significant decline in the average body mass index of more than 14,000 schoolkids ages 5 to 18 whose heights and weights were tracked before and after implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

The study is new evidence that improving the quality of school meals through legislation might be one way to help shift the trajectory of childhood obesity, which has been rising for decades and now affects about 1 in 5 U.S. kids.

Whether the program has begun to turn the tide for the whole country, and not just the groups of kids studied, is still unclear. About 30 million children in the U.S. receive school lunches each day.

"You have the potential to really impact their excess weight gain over the course of their entire childhood," said Dr. Aruna Chandran, a social epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She led the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, championed by former first lady Michelle Obama, was the first national legislation to improve school meals in more than 20 years. It increased the quantity of fruits, vegetables and whole grains required in school meals.

The new study analyzed nationwide data from 50 cohorts of schoolchildren from January 2005 to August 2016, before the law took effect, and data from September 2016 to March 2020, after it was fully implemented. Researchers calculated kids' body-mass index, a weight-to-height ratio.

It found that a body mass index for children, adjusted for age and gender, fell by 0.041 units per year, compared to before the law took effect. That amounts to about a quarter of one BMI unit per year, Chandran said. There was a slight decline in kids who were overweight or obese, too, the study showed.

One way to think of the change is that for a 10-year-old boy with an elevated body-mass index, the decline would amount to a 1-pound weight loss, noted Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, director of nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

"This is important as even BMI flattening over time is likely important," she said. Holding kids' weight steady as they grow can help keep obesity in check.

Previous studies have shown weight-related effects of the federal law among children from low-income families. The new study is the first to find lower BMI in kids across all income levels.

At the same time, significant decreases in BMI measures were seen not only in kids ages 5 to 11, but also in those age 12 to 18.

"That's an incredible shift," Chandran said. "These are kids who potentially have their own autonomy to buy their own snacks."

The new results come within days of the release of updated standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, decreased sodium and increased flexibility for whole grains. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the study shows that healthy school meals are "critical for tackling diet-related conditions like obesity."

But some researchers cautioned against interpreting the study's findings too broadly. Some of the children included in the study might not have been enrolled in school meals programs, or their district may not have fully implemented the nutrition requirements, said Kendrin Sonneville, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Significantly, measures like BMI, even when adjusted for children, "should not be used as a proxy for health," she added.

A slight reduction in those measures, she said, "doesn't tell us whether the health, well-being, concerns related to food security of children participating in the school breakfast or lunch program improved."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A new study offers hints that healthier school lunches may help reduce obesity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The national study found a small but significant decline in the average BMI of more than 14,000 schoolkids after implementation of a 2010 federal law that boosted nutrition standards for school meals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is important for proper growth and development and to prevent various health conditions. 1,2 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 recommend that people aged 2 years or older follow a healthy eating pattern that includes the following ²:

A variety of fruits and vegetables.

Whole grains.

Fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

A variety of protein foods.

Oils.

These guidelines also recommend that individuals limit calories from solid fats (major sources of saturated and trans fatty acids) and added sugars, and reduce sodium intake. ² Unfortunately, most children and adolescents do not follow the recommendations set forth in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. ²⁻⁴

Healthy eating can help individuals achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, consume important nutrients, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions such as 1,2

High blood pressure.

Heart disease.

Type 2 diabetes.

Cancer.

Osteoporosis.

Iron deficiency.

Dental caries (cavities).

The US Department of Agriculture provides healthy eating plans through MyPlate.gov.

Schools are in a unique position to provide students with opportunities to learn about and practice healthy eating behaviors.¹⁵

Eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially memory), reduced absenteeism, and improved mood.¹⁶⁻¹⁸

Adequate hydration may also improve cognitive function in children and adolescents, which is important for learning.¹⁹⁻²³

Between 2001 and 2010, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among children and adolescents decreased, but still accounts for 10% of total caloric intake.¹⁰

Between 2003 and 2010, total fruit intake and whole fruit intake among children and adolescents increased. However, most youth still do not meet fruit and vegetable recommendations.11,12

Empty calories from added sugars and solid fats contribute to 40% of daily calories for children and adolescents age 2-18 years-affecting the overall quality of their diets. Approximately half of these empty calories come from six sources: soda, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, grain desserts, pizza, and whole milk.4 Most youth do not consume the recommended amount of total water.¹³

1. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2015.

2. US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Agriculture. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.

3. Krebs-Smith SM, Guenther PM, Subar AF, et al. Americans do not meet federal dietary recommendations. Journal of Nutrition. 2010;140:1832-1838.

4. Reedy J, Krebs-Smith SM. Dietary Sources of Energy, Solid fats, and added sugars among children and adolescents in the united States. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2010;110:1477-1484.

5. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2004.

6. Kushi LH, Byers T, Doyle C, et al. American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: Reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2006;56:254-281.

7. Kaiser LL, Townsend MS. Food insecurity among US children: Implications for nutrition and health. Topics in Clinical Nutrition. 2005;20:313-320.

8. Alaimo K, Olson CM, Frongillo EA. Food insufficiency and American school-aged children's cognitive, academic and psychosocial developments. Pediatrics ,2001;108:44-53.

9. Kleinman RE, Murphy JM, Little M, et al. Hunger in children in the United States: Potential behavioral and emotional correlates. Pediatrics, 1998;101:1-6.

10. Mesirow MA, Welsh JA. Changing beverage consumption patterns have resulted in fewer liquid calories in the diets of US children: National health and nutrition examination survey 2001-2010. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2015;115(4):559-66.

11. Kim SA, Moore LV, Galuska D, et al. Vital Signs: Fruit and vegetable intake among children-United States, 2003-2010. MMWR. 2014; 63(No. RR-31):671-6.

12. Drewnowski A, Rehm CD. Socioeconomic gradient in consumption of whole fruit and 100% fruit juice among US children and adults. Nutr J. 2015;14:3.

13. Drewnowski A, Rehm CD, Constant F. Water and beverage consumption among children age 4-13 years in the United States: Analyses of 2005-2010 NHANES data. Nutr J. 2013;12(1):85.

14. US Department of Agriculture. MyPlate.gov.

15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity. MMWR. 2011;60(RR05):1-76.

16. Taras HL. Nutrition and student performance at school. Journal of School Health. 2005;75:199-213.

17. Rampersaud GC, Pereira MA, Girard BL, et al. Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005;105:743-760.

18. Hoyland A, Dye L, Lawton CL. A systematic review of the effect of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children and adolescents. Nutrition Research Reviews. 2009;22:220-243.

19. Popkin BM, D'Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition Reviews. 2010;68(8):439-458.

20. Kempton MJ, Ettinger U, Foster R, et al. Dehydration affects brain structure and function in healthy adolescents. Human Brain Mapping. 2011;32:71-79.

21. Edmonds CJ, Jeffes B. Does having a drink help you think? 6 to 7-year-old children show improvements in cognitive performance from baseline to test after having a drink of water. Appetite. 2009;53:469-472.

22. Edmonds CJ, Burford D. Should children drink more water? The effects of drinking water on cognition in children. Appetite. 2009;52:776-779.

23. Benton D, Burgess N. The effect of the consumption of water on the memory and attention of children. Appetite. 2009;53:143-146.

Page last reviewed:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
centers for disease control and prevention

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Schools are in a unique position to provide students with opportunities to learn about and practice healthy eating behaviors.15 Eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially memory), reduced absenteeism, and improved mood.

# data[].attributes.headline
Massachusetts Makes School Meals Free for All.

# data[].attributes.subject
Massachusetts Makes School Meals Free for All.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mother of three Musu-kulla Massaquoi is celebrating this major win for Massachusetts with her community. Her youngest, a 7-year-old, has been able to receive free meals at school each day, even when she was furloughed from a previous job during the pandemic. Now that School Meals for All is permanent in Massachusetts, families with school children can continue to save around $1,200 each year on groceries!
"With School Meals for All, my budget is less stressed and so is my schedule. I hate to waste food, but buying healthy options my son will actually eat is a challenge," says Massaquoi.
In both her work as a Community Program Coordinator with the Lower Roxbury Coalition and Wellness Initiative and in her personal life, the impact of School Meals for All cannot be overstated. Now that it's permanent, schools and parents can rely on consistent support keeping their kids fed.
"We would also have to create a whole new routine if school meals were not provided, making lunch the night before, waking up earlier to eat oatmeal or cream of wheat before school, and thinking creatively so he doesn't get bored of the same meals."
For Massaquoi's son and hundreds of thousands of other students like him, school meals have provided a reliable source of nutrition, enabling success in school and in life. Now, with permanent School Meals for All, it will be easier foreven more students to stay fed at school and to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

School Meals for All, a policy first implemented in March 2020, has eliminated the largest barriers to participation in school meals: paperwork, cost, and stigma. Now and forever, every child who wants or needs a school breakfast or lunch will be able to receive those meals at no cost to their family.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Massachusetts Makes School Meals for All Permanent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today, Governor Healey and the Massachusetts Legislature made a historic investment and commitment to solving childhood hunger by making Massachusetts the 8th state to make School Meals for All permanent, beginning immediately for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Citation: Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute under award R01HL115189, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Complete information on authors, funders, methodology, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper.

Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School Meals Would Be Even Healthier if Compliant with U.S. Nutrition Standards, Study Finds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aligning student meals to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans would support children's health and cut health care costs into adulthood, say Tufts researchers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FACT SHEET: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act School Meals Implementation | Food and Nutrition Service

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Congress passed the Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 with bipartisan support to help ensure every American child had access to the nutrition they need to grow into healthy adults. One goal of the law was to help reduce America’s childhood obesity epidemic and reduce health risks for America’s children by helping schools across the country produce balanced meals so children had access to healthy foods during the school day. USDA based the new school meal standards on independent, expert recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to ensure kids are being fed healthy food while they are at school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Challenges and Opportunities of Providing Free School Meals for All

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Center for American Progress' community conversations with a Colorado school district illustrate how offering no-cost school meals is critical for students' success and opportunities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School Meal Statistics - School Nutrition Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Featured Info & Statistics More Than Just Lunch School Meals During the Pandemic Supply Chain & Financial Challenges Benefits of School Meals Participation, Meals Served and Program Cost Reimbursement Rates Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price Meals School Meal Prices and Unpaid Meals Cost to Produce School Meals Lunch Period...