Effect of federally-funded school nutrition programs on childhood blood pressure

Background:  Federally-funded nutrition programs, including the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program, provide free and reduced-priced meals each day to millions of low-income children attending public and non-profit private schools in the United States.  Research on the impact these programs have on children’s cardiovascular health, e.g. blood pressure, has been limited.

Methods:   Multiple linear regression models were utilized to determine whether receipt of free or reduced-priced meals at school lowered systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure among 930 children aged 8 - 19 years residing in low-educated households during 2007 - 2010.   Statistical analyses were adjusted for demographic, social, environmental and anthropometric confounders.  Tests for interaction ascertained racial differences in the association between blood pressure and participation in school nutrition programs.

Results:   Children receiving free or reduced-priced meals at school had lower DBP compared with those paying full price or carrying meals to school (beta = -2.40, se = 0.76, p < 0.01).  SBP was lower in students receiving free or reduced-priced meals compared with those paying full price or carrying meals to school among Hispanic children only (beta = -4.25, se = 1.46, p < 0.01).  No associations were found between SBP and participation in school breakfast or lunch programs for Non-Hispanic white or black children.

Conclusions: These results suggest that participation in national school nutrition programs may reduce blood pressure in childhood and subsequently avert or delay the risk for hypertension and hypertensive-related diseases across the life-course.