The school lunch and breakfast programs sponsored by the federal government feed millions of school children annually in hopes of giving them a healthy start.
But new research has found that children who participate in the National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight, according to economist Daniel L. Millimet, a professor in SMU's Department of Economics. Millimet's school-lunch research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sponsors the National School Lunch Program.
USDA officials, says Millimet, are concerned about a la carte offerings and other school add-ons to the government program because those foods aren't required to meet USDA nutritional standards.
The USDA is partnering with First Lady Michelle Obama to fight what experts say is a childhood obesity epidemic among America's school children. The First Lady on May 18 released the results and recommendations of The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity report.