Age Group: Adolescents (grades 9 to 12)

Examining differences in the implementation of school water-quality practices and water-access policies by school demographic characteristics

By

Ensuring safe, accessible drinking water in schools is a national health priority. The objective of this study was to identify whether there are differences in water quality, availability, and education- related practices in schools by demographic characteristics. In 2017–2018, we analyzed data from the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), a nationally representative, More

How Much Can Product Reformulation Improve Diet Quality in Households with Children and Adolescents?

By

Improvements in the healthfulness of packaged foods and beverages through reformulation could help reduce the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents through improved diet quality. This study assessed changes in calories and four nutrients (saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, and dietary fiber) from 2012 through 2014 for packaged products frequently consumed by children and More

State Policies on Testing Drinking Water for Lead in U.S. Schools

By

This Brief summarizes select characteristics of state-level policies and programs to test for lead in school drinking water. It is based on a study from researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of California Nutrition Policy Institute. The full results of the study, study methods, and state profiles More

Parents’ Reports of Fast-Food Purchases for Their Children: Have They Improved?

By

Few research studies have examined the menu items that parents purchase for their children at fast-food restaurants or their attitudes about healthier kids’ meals. The purpose of this research was to document specific menu items that parents reported purchasing for their children at the top fast-food restaurant chains, attitudes about the restaurants, frequency of fast-food More

Implementing a novel electronic health record approach to track child sugar-sweetened beverage consumption

By

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a risk factor for childhood obesity. Including this measure in electronic health records (EHR) could enhance clinical care and facilitate research on this topic. We implemented a single-item, EHR screening question for SSB and 100% fruit juice at 8 pediatric practices affiliated with a North Carolina academic medical center. From More

Survey of Afterschool Programs Suggests Most Offer Fruit and Vegetables Daily

By

This study estimated the frequency and quality of fruit and vegetables offered during snack in U.S. afterschool programs and examined program-level factors associated with offering them, including awareness and use of the National AfterSchool Association Healthy Eating and Physical Activity standards. Data was collected from 684 National AfterSchool Association members and their colleagues through an More

Assessing Beverage Intake in Children and Adolescents: State of the Science, Recommendations, and Resources for Evaluation

By

This report serves as a guide to assist researchers in the selection of beverage intake assessment methods. The report begins with a description of several key issues to consider when assessing beverage intake in children and adolescents, and then moves into a review of five methods for assessing beverage consumption. The review compares assessment methods by More

Eating School Meals Daily Is Associated with Healthier Dietary Intakes: The Healthy Communities Study

By

This study examines the association between frequency of participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and children’s dietary intakes. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Dietary Screener Questionnaire was used to measure dietary intake of fruit and vegetables, fiber, whole grains, dairy, calcium, total added sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, and energy-dense foods. The More

Issue Brief. The Associations Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Children’s Health: An Updated Review of the Literature

By

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)—which include all drinks with added sugar, such as soda, fruit drinks, and sports drinks—is strongly linked to obesity and a number of other negative health consequences. This issue brief is based on a review of the literature on this topic and examines the evidence on: 1) the health impacts of More

The Associations Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Children’s Health: An Updated Review of the Literature

By

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)—which include all drinks with added sugar, such as soda, fruit drinks, and sports drinks—is strongly linked to obesity and a number of other negative health consequences. This research review is based on a review of the literature on this topic, published in BMC Obesity (Bleich and Vercammen 2018). It examines the More