Influence of school competitive food and beverage policies on obesity, consumption, and availability: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
The US Department of Agriculture recently issued an interim final rule governing the sale of foods and beverages sold outside of the school meal programs ("competitive foods and beverages" [CF&Bs]).


OBJECTIVE
To examine the potential influence that the federal rule may have based on peer-reviewed published studies examining the relationship between state laws and/or school district policies and student body mass index (BMI) and weight outcomes, consumption, and availability of CF&Bs.


METHODS
Keyword searches of peer-reviewed literature published between January 2005 and March 2013 were conducted using multiple databases. Titles and abstracts for 1160 nonduplicate articles were reviewed, with a full review conducted on 64 of those articles to determine their relevancy. Qualitative studies, studies of self-reported policies, or studies examining broad policies without a specific CF&B element were excluded.


RESULTS
Twenty-four studies were selected for inclusion. Studies focused on state laws (n = 14), district policies (n = 8), or both (n = 2), with the majority of studies (n = 18) examining foods and beverages (as opposed to food-only or beverage-only policies). Sixteen studies examined prepolicy/postpolicy changes, and 8 studies examined postpolicy changes. Study designs were cross-sectional (n = 20), longitudinal (n = 3), or a combination (n = 1). Outcomes examined included change in BMI, weight, probability of overweight or obesity (n = 4), consumption (n = 10), and availability (n = 13); 3 studies examined more than 1 outcome. The majority of studies primarily reported results in the expected direction (n = 15), with the remaining studies (n = 9) reporting primarily mixed or nonsignificant results.


CONCLUSIONS
In most cases, CF&B policies are associated with changes in consumption and/or availability in the expected direction; however, caution should be exercised, given that nearly all were cross-sectional. The influence of such policies on overall student consumption and BMI and weight outcomes was mixed. The findings hold promise for the likely influence of federal CF&B regulations on changes in student in-school consumption and in-school competitive food availability. Further research is needed to truly understand the association between these policies and overall consumption and weight outcomes.
Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago.
Jamie F
JF
Chriqui
Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago.
Margaret
M
Pickel
Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Mary
M
Story
D001628:Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005509:Food Dispensers, Automatic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005522:Food Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology