Description:
Many obese individuals are served by government-funded food assistance programs, so there is concern that participation in these programs may be related to obesity.  These concerns have escalated with the current childhood obesity epidemic.  This research initiative uses existing data collected for two of Dr. Baxter’s NIH-funded studies to provide cost-efficient preliminary evidence concerning a possible relationship between childhood obesity and participation in the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.  Observed energy intake at school meals and childhood obesity is also being investigated for a subset of children.  Results will inform the design of future controlled trials and/or cohort studies to understand pathways to obesity among children who participate in the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.

Research Collaborators:
Kathleen Collins, BS – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Christina Devlin, RD, LD – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Christopher Finney, MS - University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Caroline H. Guinn, RD, LD – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
David B. Hitchcock, PhD – University of South Carolina (Department of Statistics)
Amy E. Paxton, MPH – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society) and
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention)
Megan P. Puryear, RD, LD - University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Julie A. Royer, MSPH – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Alyssa Smith, BS – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)
Joshua M. Tebbs, PhD - University of South Carolina (Department of Statistics)
Kate Vaadi, RD, LD – University of South Carolina (Institute for Families in Society)

Research Partners:
Data were collected in elementary schools in the Richland One School District (Columbia, SC) and in the Richmond County School District (Augusta, GA).

Current Funding:

Title:   School Meals and BMI Percentile: Secondary Analyses of Non-Self-Report Data
Sponsor:   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Term:   07/15/2009 – 06/30/2013
Grant number:   R21 HL096035
Principal Investigator:   Suzanne Domel Baxter

Past Funding:

Title:   Is Childhood Obesity Related to Participation in School Meals?
Sponsor:   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Term:   04/01/2008 – 03/31/2012
Grant number:   R21 HL088617
Principal Investigator:   Suzanne Domel Baxter

Selected Publications: 

1. Baxter SD, Hardin JW, Guinn CH, Royer JA, Mackelprang AJ, Devlin CM.  Children’s body mass index, participation in school meals, and observed energy intake at school meals.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 7:24, 2010.  doi:10.1186/1479-5868-7-24.  PMC2859739.
2. Baxter SD, Royer JA, Hardin JW, Guinn CH, Devlin CM.  The relationship of school absenteeism with body mass index, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status among fourth-grade children.  Journal of School Health 81:417-423, 2011.
3. Paxton AE, Baxter SD, Tebbs JM, Royer JA, Guinn CH, Devlin CM, Finney CJ. Nonsignificant relationship between participation in school-provided meals and body mass index during the fourth-grade school year. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 112:104-109, 2012.
4. Paxton-Aiken AE (co-first author), Baxter SD (co-first author), Tebbs JM, Finney CJ, Guinn CH, Royer JA. How accurate are parental responses concerning their fourth-grade children's school-meal participation, and what is the relationship between children's body mass index and school-meal participation based on parental responses? International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 9:30, 2012.
5. Baxter SD, Paxton-Aiken AE, Tebbs JM, Royer JA, Guinn CH, Finney CJ.  Secondary analyses of data from 4 studies with fourth-grade children show that sex, race, amounts eaten of standardized portions, and energy content given in trades explain the positive relationship between body mass index and energy intake at school-provided meals.  Nutrition Research 32(9):659-668, 2012.