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Eating More but Not Better at School? Impacts of Boarding on Students’ Dietary Structure and Nutritional Status in Rural Northwestern China

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  • Qihui Chen

    (Center for Food and Health Economic Research, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
    College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Chunchen Pei

    (College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Qiran Zhao

    (Center for Food and Health Economic Research, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
    College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract

While the impact of boarding on students’ development has attracted considerable attention from researchers and policy makers, rigorous analysis of students’ food consumption behavior and nutritional status has been rare. This study fills this gap by analyzing data on nearly 7600 rural primary school students from two northwestern Chinese provinces, using students’ home-to-school distance as an instrumental variable for their boarding status. Our estimation results suggest that boarding significantly reduces students’ dietary diversity, as measured by a Diet Diversity Score constructed following guidelines provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. While the reduced dietary diversity does not undermine students’ overall nutrition intake, as measured by their body mass index (BMI) for age, it does increase their probability of being anemic. Further investigation reveals that boarders consume significantly less protein-rich food and significantly more carbohydrate-rich food than their non-boarding counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Qihui Chen & Chunchen Pei & Qiran Zhao, 2018. "Eating More but Not Better at School? Impacts of Boarding on Students’ Dietary Structure and Nutritional Status in Rural Northwestern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2753-:d:161900
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chang Tao & Qiran Zhao & Thomas Glauben & Yanjun Ren, 2020. "Does Dietary Diversity Reduce the Risk of Obesity? Empirical Evidence from Rural School Children in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Zeqi Liu & Wei Si & Qiran Zhao & Chang Tao, 2021. "Does Subjective Dietary Knowledge Affect Sugar-Sweetened Carbonated Beverages Consumption and Child Obesity? Empirical Evidence from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Qihui Chen & Chunchen Pei & Yunli Bai & Qiran Zhao, 2019. "Impacts of Nutrition Subsidies on Diet Diversity and Nutritional Outcomes of Primary School Students in Rural Northwestern China—Do Policy Targets and Incentives Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Chen, Qihui, 2020. "Am I Late for School? Peer Effects on Delayed School Entry in Rural Northwestern China," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304415, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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