We begin by obtaining an overall picture of how children’s weight status affects their
academic performance across the entire academic performance distribution. From here, we are
interested in potential policy instruments that can be used to improve this relationship. Because
children spend a large portion of their waking hours in school and consume one-third to one-half
of their calories while in school each day (Schanzenbach 2009), SBP and NSLP are realistic
policy targets that could be used to influence child weight. This naturally leads to the fourth
chapter which then examines the spillover effects of these programs on academic performance
through the mediating factor of child weight.