Age Group: Adults and Families

Examining Rewards-Based Incentives for Fruit and Vegetable Purchases by Lower-Income Families

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Incentives that reward healthier food purchases and that provide reinforcement to the consumer have not been systematically and rigorously studied, particularly among lower-income populations. The aim of this study is to determine whether an incentive-based system increases healthier food purchasing practices by lower-income families. The study is a randomized controlled trial of 70 adult supermarket More

Assessing the Impact of Two California County Ordinances Banning Toys or Other Incentives with Unhealthful Menu Items for Kids

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The advertising and marketing of unhealthful foods and beverages via cross-promotions and premiums, such as toys and other incentives, may contribute to the development of unhealthy eating patterns and obesity, particularly in children. Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties (Calif.) passed separate ordinances on May 21, 2010 and November 9, 2010, respectively, preventing restaurants from More

Responses to the Changing WIC Package Among Small Food Store Retailers in the United States: A Mixed Methods Study

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The Healthy Eating Research (HER) Corner Store working group, comprised of HER grantees conducting research in this topic area, undertook a research project that builds on existing projects in multiple communities around the United States. Each of the eight participating sites in seven states produced in-depth interviews with small store owners and managers. The interviews More

Reaching Staff, Parents, and Community Partners to Prevent Childhood Obesity in Head Start, 2008

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This article describes obesity prevention activities directed at staff, parents and community partners in Head Start, the United States’ largest federally-funded early childhood education program. On the bases of survey data, researchers found that 60% of responding Head Start programs trained staff about feeding children, and 63% trained staff about children’s gross motor activity. Eighty-four More

Food Insecurity and Risk for Obesity Among Children and Families: Is There a Relationship? A Research Synthesis

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In the United States, nearly 15 percent of households are food insecure; they have limited or uncertain access to food. This research synthesis reviews studies that examine the relationship between food insecurity and obesity in the United States, particularly involving children and families. Because of the policy implications inherent in examining this issue, the authors More

Report Card on Food-Marketing Policies: An Analysis of Food and Entertainment Company Policies Regarding Food and Beverage Marketing to Children

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This 34-page report examines whether companies marketing food to children have adopted a policy on marketing to children, and if so, whether those policies are adequate in adhering to nutrition-based standards. Of the 128 companies assessed, only 32% had a policy for marketing food to children. Of the companies who did, none received a grade More

Barriers to Obesity Prevention in Head Start

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This article details findings gleaned from a national survey of all directors of Head Start, a program that provides early childhood education to nearly one million lower-income children, approximately one third of whom are obese. With respect to implementing policies and practices to address obesity, program directors identified three key barriers: lack of time, money More

Program Practices: An Investigation of Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Standards and Practices on Out-of-School-Time Programs

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In the US, 6.5 million children attend out-of-school time (OST) programs annually, participating in roughly three hours per day of activities typically including homework, snack and gross motor play. The specific aims of this study are to: (1) build capacity for obesity prevention in OST by infusing rigorous science-based guidelines into the National Afterschool Association More