Kids who eat government sponsored meals are at a higher risk of being overweight

The government sponsored school meal programs are expected to be in the best interest of the health and welfare of kids whose families can't afford to buy them healthy food for breakfast and lunch. However, it appears the meals being provided to kids in these programs may not always be as healthy as they could be. Virginia Tech reported that there is an increased risk of being overweight for kids who participate in school meal programs which are government funded. Virginia Tech Agricultural and applied economics Associate Professor Wen You says financially vulnerable kids are being placed at an increased risk of being overweight with government funded meals. Therefore the school meals which millions of kids eat for breakfast and lunch may be partially to blame for the obesity epidemic across the country. It is the position of You that all aspects of school meal programs including availability and affordability along with nutritional content and tastiness must be considered by policymakers. This study has been published in the journal Health Economics. Clearly there should be initiatives to make certain breakfast and lunch in the school meal programs are healthier.