HHFKA Positively Impacted Childhood Obesity, Studies Reiterate
More than 10 years ago, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) introduced new nutrition standards and rules for school meals. Now, two new studies published this year have reported that the regulation changes had a positive impact on childhood obesity.
Prior to HHFKA, research was mixed on school meals’ impact on childhood obesity, with some studies—but not all—concluding that National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants were more likely to be obese than students who brought lunch at home. In May 2023, a working paper published by researchers at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research found that that improved nutritional content of school lunches reserved the potentially negative relationship between school lunch and childhood obesity...