Recommended school policies are associated with student sugary drink and fruit and vegetable intake

Abstract Objective To examine the association between 8 recommended school obesity-related policies and student behaviors and weight in a cohort of Minnesota schools. Method Existing surveillance surveys were used to examine the relationship between school policies to promote healthy eating and physical activity and student weight, diet, and activity behaviors from 2002 to 2006 among students (n = 18,881) in a cohort of 37 Minnesota junior–senior high and high schools using fixed effects linear regression models. Results Each additional recommended policy was associated with a significant decrease in consumption of sugary drinks and an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables. There were no associations with weekly hours of sedentary activities, days per week of vigorous activity, or body mass index percentile. Conclusion Students attending schools that added recommended policies to promote healthy eating showed improved dietary behaviors, independent of secular trends compared with students in schools that did not add recommended policies.