Michelle Obama Wrong? School Junk Food, Not Bad

A recent publication in the Sociology of Education has failed to show a significant connection between junk food at schools and the rise in childhood obesity.  The study focused on a national representation of nearly 20,000 students from kindergarten to eighth grade. As the availability of junk food increased between the grades 5-8, there was no increase in body weight.  There was actually a 4.3% decrease in weight of already obese children, during this time frame.

I remember growing up and attending school during the late eighties and early nineties.  We had Pizza, we had candy, we had sodas.  I enjoyed the junk food at times, but most of the time I made my lunch.  I remained active and I remained thin.  My parents also taught me the value of nutrition from an early age, and made sure I had a healthy dinner.  A school lunch, for majority of the people, only makes one portion of their daily meal.  Many factors come into play when dealing with childhood obesity.  So it is not surprising that a large subset of children would fail to show a strong connection between junk food and obesity.  The question is, what if we performed a study on children that didn’t have great support at home or got majority of their meals from school, would there still be no apparent connection between junk food and obesity? Also this study only looks at the availability of the junk food, what about kids that actually eat this food?

This is an interesting study, which shows that childhood obesity is a complex issue, and no one solution will likely be successful.  An approach from several angles, including better nutritional education, parental involvement, improved exercise routines, are a few of the steps that are likely key to stem childhood obesity.  It also should be noted, that this is a correlation study.  Correlations don’t always provide a distinct picture of real life.

To further this research, it would be beneficial to see the effects that extend further into a child’s life, looking at what other potential health problems might stem from this junk food, not just obesity.  Also what about behavioral problems?  Does this type of food actually cause a decrease in education quality?  In fact, a lot of studies have actually shown that dietary intervention of schools can actually improve the overall health and academic performance of children.

A child’s health is not something that should be taken lightly.

Related Article: Study suggests junk food in schools doesn’t cause weight gain among children