Giving Compass' Take:

• A study by the Yale School of Public Health found that middle schools with nutrition programs have student populations that experience less weight gain compared to schools with no health initiatives. 

• How can this study inform education and health policy?  Are there other challenges for schools in terms of access to these types of programs?  

• Read about a new program that teaches students about healthy food. 

Preteens and teens who attend middle schools with nutrition policies and healthy-eating programs experience less of an increase in body mass index (BMI) compared to students who attend schools without such programs, according to a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health.

More than one in five American teenagers are currently obese, and around half of teens are overweight. Being overweight or obese early in life affects health across the lifespan, contributing to a range of chronic diseases such as depression, hypertension and diabetes that reduce productivity and shorten life expectancy.

These findings can guide future school and community interventions. Childhood obesity is a serious health threat, and schools are a vital way to reach children and their families to reduce risks and promote health,” said lead author Dr. Jeannette Ickovics, the Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health.

The findings show that students had healthier body mass index trajectories (a measure of obesity) over time when they attended schools with enhanced nutrition policies and programs.

Overall, these students had an increase in BMI percentile of less than 1 percent, compared with students in non-supported schools who demonstrated increases of 3 to 4 percent. By the end of the study, the nutritionally supported students also reported healthier behaviors than their peers in schools without the nutrition policies and programs.

Read the full article about school nutrition programs by Traci Pedersen at Psych Central