Both types of childhood misnourishment, overweight/obesity and underweight, are accompanied by serious health consequences and a heavy economic burden. In 2008, 19.6% of US children aged 6 to 11 and 18.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 were obese equating to 13 million children. Furthermore, in 2006, 2.7% of US children aged 6 to 11 and 3.9% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 were underweight translating to 2.4 million children. This dissertation contains three essays on the relationship between child weight, school meal program participation and academic performance. Chapter II examines how childrens' weight impacts their academic performance using a quantile analysis while controlling for potential simultaneity between weight and school outcomes. Results indicate that programs targeting child weight could potentially have positive spillover effects on academic performance leading to the question of what can be done to mitigate the problem. Since children consume one-third to one-half of their daily calories while in school each day, school level programs are natural policy instruments to tackle misnourishment. Specifically, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are two federally-funded programs providing meals to over 31.7 million children daily. Chapter III examines the impact that these programs have on child weight using a multiple simultaneous treatment analysis controlling for self-selection into the programs. Chapter IV then investigates whether these programs have spillover effects on academic performance through the mediator of child weight using structural equation modeling and multiple simultaneous equation methodologies. Each of these essays provides further insight to the relationship between child weight, school meal program participation and academic performance offering potential policy implications to tackle child misnourishment. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Food insecurity is not a new phenomenon experienced by elderly persons living in the United States. In a recent report by Feeding America, approximately 4.8 million Americans over the age of 60 are food insecure, which has doubled since 2001, and is 50% higher than in 2007. Due to lack of funding to the program, Meals on Wheels by Seniors First is unable to give meals to seniors in the Central Florida area who are food insecure. Through structured face-to-face interviews, this study examines elders on the program's waiting list and explores how this population obtains food if they are not being served through the program. Findings suggest that seniors on the waiting list are in need of the resource for survival, not convenience. This study has strong implications in which additional funding is needed as the Baby Boomer population ages and the need for food programs increases.

No description available.