Examining the Association Between School Vending Machines and Children's Body Mass Index by Socioeconomic Status

To examine the association between vending machine availability in schools and body mass index (BMI) among subgroups of children based on gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status classifications.

First-difference multivariate regressions were estimated using longitudinal fifth- and eighth-grade data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. The specifications were disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, and family socioeconomic status classifications.

Vending machine availability had a positive association (P < .10) with BMI among Hispanic male children and low-income Hispanic children. Living in an urban location (P < .05) and hours watching television (P < .05) were also positively associated with BMI for these subgroups. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment was negatively associated with BMI for low-income Hispanic students (P < .05). These findings were not statistically significant when using Bonferroni adjusted critical values.

The results suggest that the school food environment could reinforce health disparities that exist for Hispanic male children and low-income Hispanic children.