quote:

A new study of nearly 20,000 middle schoolers has found that kids who attend schools that sell junk food such as soda and doughnuts do not gain more weight than students who attend schools where that type of food isn't available.

The study, published in this month's issue of Sociology of Education, contradicts earlier research with smaller sample sizes that showed the availability of junk food correlated with rates of childhood obesity. The new study's author, Pennsylvania State Professor Jennifer Hook, said in a statement that the results surprised her. Hook hypothesizes that kids don't actually have that much time to eat at school, so their out-of-school eating habits are a more important factor in determining their weight. "Children's environments at home and in their communities may provide so many opportunities to eat unhealthy foods that competitive food sales in schools have little influence on children's weight," she writes. Eating habits are set very early, so efforts to encourage healthy food choices should start before middle school, Hook adds.

quote:

Originally posted by Whyisit:
Who paid for the study? the snack food industry???

quote:

The research was partially funded by a grant by the
Foundation for Child Development. The Foundation
for Child Development was not directly involved in
the production of the research, nor will it benefit in
any way by the results presented. The Foundation is
not responsible for the research results.

quote:

Originally posted by TheOldMole:
Rooting for junk food is really weird.

quote:

... The new study's author, Pennsylvania State Professor Jennifer Hook, said in a statement that the results surprised her. ...

quote:

The vast majority of American middle schools and high schools sell what are known as “competitive foods,” such as soft drinks, candy bars, and chips, to children. The relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and snacks and childhood obesity is well established, but it remains unknown whether competitive food sales in schools are related to unhealthy weight gain among children. The authors examined this association using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class. Employing fixed effects models and a natural experimental approach, they found that children’s weight gain between fifth and eighth grades was not associated with the introduction or the duration of exposure to competitive food sales in middle school. Also, the relationship between competitive foods and weight gain did not vary significantly by gender, race/ethnicity, or family socioeconomic status, and it remained weak and insignificant across several alternative model specifications. One possible explanation is that children’s food preferences and dietary patterns are firmly established before adolescence. Also, middle school environments may dampen the effects of competitive food sales because they so highly structure children’s time and eating opportunities.

quote:

Not if you own YUM stock (or KO, PEP, or MCD).

quote:

Of course, junk food doesn't make kids fat. It's Hugo Chavez!

quote:

Originally posted by Florida Righty:

quote:

Originally posted by Whyisit:
Who paid for the study? the snack food industry???

quote:

The research was partially funded by a grant by the
Foundation for Child Development. The Foundation
for Child Development was not directly involved in
the production of the research, nor will it benefit in
any way by the results presented. The Foundation is
not responsible for the research results.

quote:

Other studies have found the same thing. It's not that junk food isn't calorie rich--it's that the kids who don't buy it at school bring it from home, buy it outside the school, and make up for their caloric "deprivation" by eating more in school and at home.

quote:

They are a private organization, Where do they get their funding?

quote:

Originally posted by Florida Righty:

quote:

Originally posted by Whyisit:
Who paid for the study? the snack food industry???

quote:

The research was partially funded by a grant by the
Foundation for Child Development. The Foundation
for Child Development was not directly involved in
the production of the research, nor will it benefit in
any way by the results presented. The Foundation is
not responsible for the research results.

quote:

And your title is a Liar (Pinocchio) junk food does cause obesity.

quote:

If you feel otherwise, show me some facts.

quote:

Originally posted by CompGuy:
In other words, that children will be just as obese if the schools themselves do not sell junk food.

quote:

That's pretty easy to test ... .

quote:

they found that children’s weight gain between fifth and eighth grades was not associated with the introduction or the duration of exposure to competitive food sales in middle school.

quote:

It's harder than you realize.

quote:

Originally posted by CompGuy:
I didn't say that was hard or easy... .

quote:

You said, "That's pretty easy to test." You deny that you did?

quote:

A good scientist persists until he or she does understand the results before publishing them.

quote:

It's not enough to accept the results of an abstract alone. The entire published article should be read before a conclusion is reached.

quote:

Originally posted by CompGuy:
Oh, no. You publish when you have clear results; you continue your research when you don't understand your own results, or hope that others will further your research. It's perfectly acceptable to do research in bits and pieces, accumulating data and revising hypotheses as it progresses.