Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
December 1, 2024
Summary:
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.
Published in
Journal of Health Economics
Volume
Volume: 98:102937
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102937
ISSN
1676296
Subjects
Notes
Open Access
Under a Creative Commons license
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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