The rate of overweight among children has tripled over the past 30 years. First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign highlights the growing public interest in finding ways to reverse this trend. One factor that may be important in shaping children’s dietary intake and weight is food prices. This report estimates the effect of food prices on children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) using variation in food prices across time and geographic areas.

The study found that food prices have small but statistically significant effects on children’s BMI, but not all food prices have the same effect. While the magnitude of the price effects is similar for healthier and less healthy foods, the direction differs. Lower prices for some healthier foods, such as lowfat milk and dark green vegetables, are associated with decreases in children’s BMI. In contrast, lower prices for soda, 100-percent juices, starchy vegetables, and sweet snacks are associated with increases in children’s BMI.

Highlights include:

• A 10-percent price decrease for lowfat milk in the previous quarter is associated with a decrease in BMI of approximately 0.35 percent, or about 0.07 BMI unit for an 8- to 9-year-old.

• A 10-percent drop in the price of dark green vegetables (e.g., spinach and broccoli) in the previous quarter is associated with a reduction in BMI of 0.28 percent.

• A decrease in the price of sweet snacks during the previous quarter is associated with an increase in BMI of 0.27 percent.

Please click here to access the study.