School Lunches Weigh Heavily in Childhood Obesity

It is not the lunches.

Obese sixth graders pack on the pounds in much the same manner as their adult counterparts -- too much TV, poor dietary habits, and too little physical activity.
All three factors had significant associations with obesity in a cohort study involving 1,003 sixth graders.

The strongest predictors of obesity were school-lunch consumption (OR 1.29, 1.02 to 1.64) and spending two or more hours in front of a TV or video game within the past day (OR 1.19, 1.06 to 1.33), as reported recently in the American Heart Journal.

Moderate physical activity reduced the likelihood of obesity by 11% (OR 0.89, 0.82 to 0.90).

The unhealthy behaviors translated into an unfavorable metabolic profile, including lipids, blood pressure, blood glucose, and heart rate.

It is the home.