Holford Angus, Rabe Birgitta
Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, UK.
Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, UK.
J Health Econ. 2024 Dec;98:102937. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102937. Epub 2024 Nov 12.
We study the impact on children's bodyweight of switching from means-tested to universal provision of nutritious free school meals in England. We exploit the roll-out of universal provision across Local Authorities to estimate effects at different ages and durations of exposure, based on nurse-collected, population-wide health data for state school children. Exposure to universal free lunches reduces obesity prevalence and BMI among children aged 4-5 and 10-11, but older children's bodyweights are less responsive than younger children's. We find tentative evidence that effects may be cumulative, as impacts are largest for those exposed to universal free school meals throughout primary school.
我们研究了在英格兰将有资格审查的免费学校营养餐改为普遍提供营养餐对儿童体重的影响。我们利用地方当局普遍提供营养餐的推广情况，根据护士收集的公立学校儿童全人群健康数据，估计不同年龄和接触时长的影响。普遍提供免费午餐降低了4至5岁和10至11岁儿童的肥胖患病率和体重指数，但年龄较大儿童的体重反应不如年龄较小儿童明显。我们发现初步证据表明影响可能具有累积性，因为在整个小学阶段都接受普遍免费学校午餐的儿童受到的影响最大。
