Implementation of Competitive Food and Beverage Standards in a Sample of Massachusetts Schools: The NOURISH Study (Nutrition Opportunities to Understand Reforms Involving Student Health)

During 2012, Massachusetts adopted comprehensive school competitive food and beverage standards that closely align with Institute of Medicine recommendations and Smart Snacks in School national standards. The NOURISH study examined middle and high schools’ compliance with the Massachusetts standards after the first year of implementation. Employing an observational cohort study with a pre-/post-test design, researchers More

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage-Related Public Service Advertisements and Their Influence on Parents

There is substantial evidence that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with weight gain in both children and adults. As a result, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have been produced to both increase knowledge about the amount of sugar in drinks and to highlight the harmful effects of their overconsumption. This article explores the impact More

Analyzing the Associations between Price Promotions and Health Claims on the Nutrient Profile of Food Purchases

Despite substantial literature on how to improve the food environment for children, there has been little work examining how price promotions, nutrient-related claims, and their interactions might be associated with the nutrient profile of food purchases, particularly for lower-income and racial/ethnic minority populations. This study will address these gaps using 2008-2012 data for a demographically More

Testing the Effectiveness of a Double-Dollar Incentive Program to Increase Purchases of Fruits and Vegetables

Currently there is much interest in incentivizing the purchase of healthier food items among lower-income populations. The purpose of this project is to pilot test a double-dollar incentive program traditionally used at farmers’ markets to increase purchases of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables in a large grocery store retail setting (Hannaford). Approximately 400 More

Do Emotional Appeals in Public Service Advertisements Influence Adolescents’ Intention to Reduce Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages?

Mass media campaigns are a commonly used and often effective public health strategy. However, it is unknown how health messages about sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), widely accepted and advertised products, will be perceived by teen audiences. This study investigated the direct and mediated effects of emotional appeals in beverage-related public service advertisements (PSAs) that aired between More

Monitoring the Uptake of National AfterSchool Association Healthy Eating Standards and Best Practices in Out-of-School-Time Programs

This project builds upon previous work conducted to develop, disseminate, and promote adoption and implementation of the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards in out-of-school-time programs (OST). The HEPA standards have been adopted by several major national service organizations that represent thousands of OST sites, but no periodic, cross-organization effort More

Potential Population-Level Nutritional Impact of Replacing Whole and Reduced-Fat Milk With Low-Fat and Skim Milk Among US Children Aged 2-19 Years

This study aimed to evaluate the population-level impact of substituting low-fat and skim milk for whole, reduced-fat, and flavored milk (milk eligible for replacement [MER]) on energy, macronutrient and nutrient intakes, and diet cost. Analyses were based on data from 8,112 children and adolescents (ages 2-19) who completed a 24-hour dietary recall through the National More

Examining the Influence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Health Warning Labels

The purpose of this project is to understand the influence of health warning labels displayed on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on consumer perceptions. This study was commissioned in response to California’s recent proposal to place health warning labels on SSBs in the absence of data. Investigators will conduct two randomized-controlled, web-based surveys to examine how a More