School Rules = Lower Obesity
"What makes it more likely that an overweight or obese 5th grader won't remain obese by the 8th grade? Location, location, location!
A recent study in the Archive of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine by Bridging the Gap shows that an overweight or obese 5th grader who lives in a state with strong laws that restrict the sale of unhealthy snacks and beverages in schools is less likely to remain so by the 8th grade than their peers in states without these laws.
Researchers observed children and teens for three years, and found that students in schools with strong snack food and beverage laws gained less weight as they got older.
So what makes a strong snack food and beverage law? It's simple: A state law that requires schools to only sell snacks that meet specific nutrition standards. Weak policies, on the other hand, are those that only recommend schools make changes and don't have specific nutritional guidelines. And the results prove which guidelines are working: Kids and teens in states with weak school snack and beverage policies experienced the same increase in their body mass indices (BMIs) as students in states with no policies."
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