Venue: The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 1 Towerview Drive, Durham, NC 27708-0120

 

Presentation

Nutrition, Health Behavior and Obesity: The Effect of School Nutrition Policies in California

Authors: Sebastian Bauhoff (Harvard University)

Presenter: Sebastian Bauhoff (Harvard University)

Discussant: Richard Dunn (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Session: Reducing Obesity

Room: Classroom F

When: Tuesday 8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m.

chool health policies are increasingly viewed as instruments to improve children's nutrition and health outcomes such as obesity. School district policies are of particular interest because local policies may be more effective than state-level regulations. Also, many districts are required to implement 'wellness' policies from the 2006/7 school year but the effects are unclear. I evaluate the impact of nutrition standards in the Los Angeles Unifed school district. To estimate a causal effect I compare public high schools in the treatment district with other schools in California. I estimate parametric and matching difference-in-differences using measured information on the percent of students in a school that are in a "healthy body weight" zone. The results suggest a small improvement in the treatment schools within the frst year of the policy.