| dc.description.abstract | Amidst a raging debate about rising obesity rates lies uncertainty about the impact of vending machines and school stores on student health outcomes. This paper seeks to bring clarity by understanding the relationship between competitive food sales in schools and student body mass index. Competitive food sales compete with food sold in the cafeteria and, for the time period sampled, included items not under government regulation for nutrition. The Health Behavior in School-Aged Children data sets from the United States for the 2001 - 2002, 2005 - 2006, and 2009 - 2010 school years including a total, nationally representative sample of 27,681 students are analyzed. Results demonstrate that student access to competitive food sales in school does not have a statistically significant relation to student health outcomes. Findings debunk the myth that food items for sale in schools that are not nutritionally regulated are to blame for the rising tide of childhood obesity. Results inform decision-making about the relative importance of altering competitive food sales in schools as a means to improve student health outcomes. | en |
