title: State-level school competitive food and beverage laws are associated with children's weight status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study attempted to determine whether state laws regulating low nutrient, high energy-dense foods and beverages sold outside of the reimbursable school meals program (referred to as "competitive foods") are associated with children's weight status.
  
  
  METHODS
  We use the Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (CLASS) database of state codified law(s) relevant to school nutrition. States were classified as having strong, weak, or no competitive food laws in 2005 based on strength and comprehensiveness. Parent-reported height and weight along with demographic, behavioral, family, and household characteristics were obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses estimated the association between states' competitive food laws and children's overweight and obesity status (body mass index [BMI]-for-age ≥85th percentile). Children (N = 16,271) between the ages of 11-14 years with a BMI for age ≥5th percentile who attended public school were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children living in states with weak competitive food laws for middle schools had over a 20% higher odds of being overweight or obese than children living in states with either no or strong school competitive food laws.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  State-level school competitive food and beverage laws merit attention with efforts to address the childhood obesity epidemic. Attention to the specificity and requirements of these laws should also be considered.
authors.affiliation: Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Support to Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Bethesda, MD20892-9671. erin.hennessy@fnlcr.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hennessy
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Agurs-Collins
authors.forename: Jamie F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chriqui
authors.forename: Louise C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Mâsse
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perna
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001628:Beverages; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005522:Food Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007881:Legislation, Food; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D018673:Nutrition Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: child and adolescent health; legislation; nutrition and diet; policy