双语新闻：研究：美国免费校餐与减少儿童肥胖有关
Research published in March found that a free meal program in schools was connected with a reduction in childhood obesity in the United States.
今年3月发表的一项研究发现，学校的免费膳食计划与美国儿童肥胖的减少有关。
Anna Localio and Jessica Jones-Smith from the University of Washington are two of the researchers who studied the health effects of nutrition-related policies. Their study was published last month in the medical publication Pediatrics.
来自华盛顿大学的安娜·洛卡利奥和杰西卡·琼斯-史密斯是研究营养相关政策对健康影响的两位研究人员。他们的研究发表在上个月的医学刊物《儿科学》上。
The two wrote in The Conversation about their research on a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). That program, started in 2014, permits schools in high-poverty areas to provide free meals in the morning and noon to all their students.
两人在《对话》中写道，他们对一个名为社区资格条款(CEP)的联邦项目进行了研究。该项目于2014年启动，允许高贫困地区的学校在早上和中午为所有学生提供免费膳食。
History of free school meals
免费校餐的历史
In 1946, the U.S. created the National School Lunch Program aiming to protect the health and well-being of American children. Participating schools were required to provide free or reduced-price meals at noon, called lunches, to children from eligible families. Eligibility is determined by income based on federal poverty levels.
1946年，美国创立了全国学校午餐计划，旨在保护美国儿童的健康和福祉。参与的学校被要求在中午为符合条件的家庭的孩子提供免费或减价的午餐。资格由基于联邦贫困水平的收入决定。
The School Breakfast Program came in 1966. It provides free, reduced-price, and full-price breakfasts, or meals in the morning, to students.
学校早餐计划开始于1966年。它为学生提供免费、减价和全价的早餐或早餐。
The Community Eligibility Provision permits all students in a school to receive free breakfast and lunch, instead of determining eligibility by individual families. Entire schools or school systems are eligible for free lunches if at least 40 percent of their students are directly eligible to receive free meals.
社区资格规定允许学校的所有学生免费享用早餐和午餐，而不是由个别家庭决定资格。整个学校或学校系统如果至少有40%的学生直接有资格获得免费午餐，就有资格获得免费午餐。
Localio and Jones-Smith say the CEP increases school meal participation by "reducing the stigma" linked to receiving free meals.
Localio和Jones-Smith表示，CEP通过“减少接受免费膳食的耻辱”来增加学校膳食的参与。
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government expanded the program to more school systems across the country. By the 2022-23 school year, over 40,000 schools were participating, an increase of more than 20 percent over the prior year.
在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，美国政府将该计划扩大到全国更多的学校系统。到2022-23学年，参与学校超过4万所，比上年增长20%以上。
Research on the effects of free meals
研究免费膳食的影响
The researchers examined whether providing free meals at school through CEP was connected with lower childhood obesity before the pandemic.
研究人员调查了在大流行之前，通过CEP在学校提供免费膳食是否与儿童肥胖率降低有关。
To do this, they measured changes in obesity from 2013 to 2019 among 3,531 California schools in poorer communities. The researchers used over 3.5 million body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade that were taken yearly and combined at the school level. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
为了做到这一点，他们测量了2013年至2019年加州贫困社区3531所学校的肥胖变化。研究人员使用了每年对五年级、七年级和九年级学生进行的超过350万次身体质量指数(BMI)测量，并在学校层面进行了汇总。BMI是一种基于身高和体重的身体脂肪测量方法。
The researchers looked at differences between schools that participated in the program and eligible schools that did not. They followed the same schools over time, comparing obesity among students before and after the policy change.
研究人员观察了参加该项目的学校和没有参加该项目的合格学校之间的差异。他们对同一所学校进行了一段时间的跟踪调查，比较了政策改变前后学生的肥胖情况。
The researchers found that schools participating in the CEP program had a 2.4 percent reduction in levels of obesity in students compared with eligible schools that did not participate in the program.
研究人员发现，参加CEP项目的学校与没有参加该项目的合格学校相比，学生的肥胖水平降低了2.4%。
Localio and Jones-Smith wrote that "even small improvements in obesity levels are notable because effective strategies to reduce obesity at a population level remain elusive."
Localio和Jones-Smith写道:“即使是肥胖水平的微小改善也是值得注意的，因为在人口水平上减少肥胖的有效策略仍然难以捉摸。”
They added that because obesity affects poor and minority children more than others, this policy could help to reduce health inequalities.
他们补充说，由于肥胖对贫困儿童和少数民族儿童的影响大于其他儿童，这项政策可能有助于减少健康不平等。
The CEP likely reduces the amount of obesity by substituting up to half of a child's weekly diet with healthier food, the research found.
研究发现，CEP可能会通过用更健康的食物代替儿童每周饮食的一半来减少肥胖的数量。
Research has shown that school meals can be healthier than meals from other sources, including meals at home. One study found that school meals provide the best diet quality of any major U.S. food source.
研究表明，学校膳食可能比其他来源的膳食更健康，包括在家用餐。一项研究发现，在美国所有主要食物来源中，学校膳食提供了最好的饮食质量。
At the same time, the free meals save about $4.70 a day per child or $850 per year. For low and middle-income families, this could result in savings that can be used for other healthy goods or services.
与此同时，每个孩子每天可以节省4.70美元，每年可以节省850美元。对于低收入和中等收入家庭来说，这可以节省下来，用于购买其他健康商品或服务。
Expanding access to school meals
扩大学校供餐范围
Childhood obesity has been increasing over the past several decades. Obesity often continues into adulthood and is linked to many health conditions and early death.
在过去的几十年里，儿童肥胖一直在增加。肥胖通常会持续到成年，并与许多健康状况和过早死亡有关。
Growing research shows the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children. Along with the study of California schools, other researchers have found an association between universal free school meals and reduced obesity in Chile, South Korea and Britain.
越来越多的研究表明，普及免费校餐对儿童的健康和福祉有好处。除了对加州学校的研究外，其他研究人员还发现，在智利、韩国和英国，学校普遍免费供餐与减少肥胖之间存在关联。
Studies have also linked the CEP program to improvements in school performance and reductions in suspensions.
研究还将CEP项目与学校表现的改善和停学的减少联系起来。
Universal free meals policies may slow the rise in childhood obesity rates, "but they alone will not be enough to reverse these trends," Localio and Jones-Smith say. Alongside free meals, identifying other strategies to reduce obesity among children is necessary to address this public health issue, they say.
普遍的免费膳食政策可能会减缓儿童肥胖率的上升，“但仅凭这些政策还不足以扭转这些趋势，”Localio和Jones-Smith说。他们说，除了免费膳食外，确定其他减少儿童肥胖的策略对于解决这一公共卫生问题是必要的。
今年3月发表的一项研究发现，学校的免费膳食计划与美国儿童肥胖的减少有关。
Anna Localio and Jessica Jones-Smith from the University of Washington are two of the researchers who studied the health effects of nutrition-related policies. Their study was published last month in the medical publication Pediatrics.
来自华盛顿大学的安娜·洛卡利奥和杰西卡·琼斯-史密斯是研究营养相关政策对健康影响的两位研究人员。他们的研究发表在上个月的医学刊物《儿科学》上。
The two wrote in The Conversation about their research on a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). That program, started in 2014, permits schools in high-poverty areas to provide free meals in the morning and noon to all their students.
两人在《对话》中写道，他们对一个名为社区资格条款(CEP)的联邦项目进行了研究。该项目于2014年启动，允许高贫困地区的学校在早上和中午为所有学生提供免费膳食。
History of free school meals
免费校餐的历史
In 1946, the U.S. created the National School Lunch Program aiming to protect the health and well-being of American children. Participating schools were required to provide free or reduced-price meals at noon, called lunches, to children from eligible families. Eligibility is determined by income based on federal poverty levels.
1946年，美国创立了全国学校午餐计划，旨在保护美国儿童的健康和福祉。参与的学校被要求在中午为符合条件的家庭的孩子提供免费或减价的午餐。资格由基于联邦贫困水平的收入决定。
The School Breakfast Program came in 1966. It provides free, reduced-price, and full-price breakfasts, or meals in the morning, to students.
学校早餐计划开始于1966年。它为学生提供免费、减价和全价的早餐或早餐。
The Community Eligibility Provision permits all students in a school to receive free breakfast and lunch, instead of determining eligibility by individual families. Entire schools or school systems are eligible for free lunches if at least 40 percent of their students are directly eligible to receive free meals.
社区资格规定允许学校的所有学生免费享用早餐和午餐，而不是由个别家庭决定资格。整个学校或学校系统如果至少有40%的学生直接有资格获得免费午餐，就有资格获得免费午餐。
Localio and Jones-Smith say the CEP increases school meal participation by "reducing the stigma" linked to receiving free meals.
Localio和Jones-Smith表示，CEP通过“减少接受免费膳食的耻辱”来增加学校膳食的参与。
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government expanded the program to more school systems across the country. By the 2022-23 school year, over 40,000 schools were participating, an increase of more than 20 percent over the prior year.
在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，美国政府将该计划扩大到全国更多的学校系统。到2022-23学年，参与学校超过4万所，比上年增长20%以上。
Research on the effects of free meals
研究免费膳食的影响
The researchers examined whether providing free meals at school through CEP was connected with lower childhood obesity before the pandemic.
研究人员调查了在大流行之前，通过CEP在学校提供免费膳食是否与儿童肥胖率降低有关。
To do this, they measured changes in obesity from 2013 to 2019 among 3,531 California schools in poorer communities. The researchers used over 3.5 million body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade that were taken yearly and combined at the school level. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
为了做到这一点，他们测量了2013年至2019年加州贫困社区3531所学校的肥胖变化。研究人员使用了每年对五年级、七年级和九年级学生进行的超过350万次身体质量指数(BMI)测量，并在学校层面进行了汇总。BMI是一种基于身高和体重的身体脂肪测量方法。
The researchers looked at differences between schools that participated in the program and eligible schools that did not. They followed the same schools over time, comparing obesity among students before and after the policy change.
研究人员观察了参加该项目的学校和没有参加该项目的合格学校之间的差异。他们对同一所学校进行了一段时间的跟踪调查，比较了政策改变前后学生的肥胖情况。
The researchers found that schools participating in the CEP program had a 2.4 percent reduction in levels of obesity in students compared with eligible schools that did not participate in the program.
研究人员发现，参加CEP项目的学校与没有参加该项目的合格学校相比，学生的肥胖水平降低了2.4%。
Localio and Jones-Smith wrote that "even small improvements in obesity levels are notable because effective strategies to reduce obesity at a population level remain elusive."
Localio和Jones-Smith写道:“即使是肥胖水平的微小改善也是值得注意的，因为在人口水平上减少肥胖的有效策略仍然难以捉摸。”
They added that because obesity affects poor and minority children more than others, this policy could help to reduce health inequalities.
他们补充说，由于肥胖对贫困儿童和少数民族儿童的影响大于其他儿童，这项政策可能有助于减少健康不平等。
The CEP likely reduces the amount of obesity by substituting up to half of a child's weekly diet with healthier food, the research found.
研究发现，CEP可能会通过用更健康的食物代替儿童每周饮食的一半来减少肥胖的数量。
Research has shown that school meals can be healthier than meals from other sources, including meals at home. One study found that school meals provide the best diet quality of any major U.S. food source.
研究表明，学校膳食可能比其他来源的膳食更健康，包括在家用餐。一项研究发现，在美国所有主要食物来源中，学校膳食提供了最好的饮食质量。
At the same time, the free meals save about $4.70 a day per child or $850 per year. For low and middle-income families, this could result in savings that can be used for other healthy goods or services.
与此同时，每个孩子每天可以节省4.70美元，每年可以节省850美元。对于低收入和中等收入家庭来说，这可以节省下来，用于购买其他健康商品或服务。
Expanding access to school meals
扩大学校供餐范围
Childhood obesity has been increasing over the past several decades. Obesity often continues into adulthood and is linked to many health conditions and early death.
在过去的几十年里，儿童肥胖一直在增加。肥胖通常会持续到成年，并与许多健康状况和过早死亡有关。
Growing research shows the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children. Along with the study of California schools, other researchers have found an association between universal free school meals and reduced obesity in Chile, South Korea and Britain.
越来越多的研究表明，普及免费校餐对儿童的健康和福祉有好处。除了对加州学校的研究外，其他研究人员还发现，在智利、韩国和英国，学校普遍免费供餐与减少肥胖之间存在关联。
Studies have also linked the CEP program to improvements in school performance and reductions in suspensions.
研究还将CEP项目与学校表现的改善和停学的减少联系起来。
Universal free meals policies may slow the rise in childhood obesity rates, "but they alone will not be enough to reverse these trends," Localio and Jones-Smith say. Alongside free meals, identifying other strategies to reduce obesity among children is necessary to address this public health issue, they say.
普遍的免费膳食政策可能会减缓儿童肥胖率的上升，“但仅凭这些政策还不足以扭转这些趋势，”Localio和Jones-Smith说。他们说，除了免费膳食外，确定其他减少儿童肥胖的策略对于解决这一公共卫生问题是必要的。
