Studying the Relationship Between Perceived and Objective Food Environments, Dietary Intake and Weight Status in Latino Families

This study will examine associations between neighborhood food environments, dietary intake and weight status among Latino families with preschool-age children. The specific aims of this work are to: (a) identify individual, familial and environmental predictors of perceived neighborhood food environments among Latino parents, (b) examine the association between parents’ neighborhood perceptions and children’s dietary intake More

Analyzing the Financial Impact of Selling Healthy Versus Unhealthy Foods on a Small Store in a Low-Income Neighborhood

To better understand how to improve healthy food access in low-income neighborhoods, the aim of this study is to examine financial incentives around selling specific types of food. Specifically, this research will: (a) analyze the financial benefits of selling healthy and unhealthy food items from the perspective of a small food store business in a More

Investigating Access to Affordable Healthy Foods Among Rural Low-Income Children in Maine

The goal of this study is to examine how food environments influence rural childhood obesity rates and food choices, in order to ultimately help policymakers find effective rural policy interventions. Specifically, this research will investigate the community-based healthy food environment (defined as food access, cost and quality for healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, More

Researching the Food Environment of YMCA After-School Programs on Chicago’s South Side

This study will examine the food environments among YMCA after-school programs that primarily serve African-American children on Chicago’s South side, as well as factors impacting the implementation of such after-school programs and snack offerings within these programs. Specifically, the aims of this work are to use qualitative and quantitative methods to: (a) identify the potential More

Identifying and Evaluating Food Environment Changes Improving Access to Affordable Healthy Foods in Low-Income Communities

The goal of this research is to evaluate the Fresh to You (FTY) program, which aims to increase year-round access to affordable, high-quality, fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income families through implementation of year-round discount fruit and vegetable markets in community organizations. Specifically, this work will consist of (a) conducting process evaluations of FTY in More

Examining Higher and Lower Income Household Food Purchasing Behavior and Whether It May Be Responsible for Childhood Obesity

This project will examine the extent to which household food purchasing behavior differs between higher- and lower-income households and whether these differences may be partly responsible for socioeconomic differences in childhood obesity. In addition, investigators will use econometric models of household food purchases to simulate the extent to which pricing policies, such as taxes on More