Age Group: Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8)

Understanding School Leaders’ Perspective of the Barriers and Facilitators in Making Free Water Available in Schools

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Water, as a beverage replacement for sugar-sweetened beverages, is a promising school-based obesity prevention strategy. Implemented in July 2011, California Senate Bill 1413 (SB1413) requires schools to provide free, fresh drinking water during mealtimes in school food service areas. This research project examined barriers and facilitators that influence the availability of free water in school More

Separate and Unequal: The Influence of Neighborhood and School Characteristics on Spatial Proximity Between Fast Food and Schools

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This article examines the location of fast food restaurants near schools in New York City, based on school type, school racial demographics and area racial and socioeconomic demographics. Researchers found that a minimum of 25% of schools had fast food restaurants within 400 meters. High schools had higher fast food clustering than elementary schools, and More

Taxing Soft Drinks and Restricting Access to Vending Machines to Curb Child Obesity

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This paper focused on the impact changes in soft drink taxes and policies restricting school vending machine access had on soda consumption among children and adolescents. The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988-1994) and IV (1999-2006) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). They concluded that 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

Child Obesity: The Way Forward

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Health Affairs published a special issue focusing on the childhood obesity epidemic and the local, state, and federal policy approaches that could have greatest impact for helping to reverse it. The March 2010 publication, which discusses findings from dozens of studies, includes articles from three Healthy Eating Research grantees: Claudia Probart, PhD, RD, Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, ScD, 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

Lessons from Pennsylvania’s Mixed Response to Federal School Wellness Law

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This article examines Pennsylvania’s response to the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act of 2004. The analysis reveals that improvements were made to the nutritional quality of a la carte food choices offered in conjunction with school meal programs, according to respondents. However, the implementation of wellness policies in Pennsylvania was More

‘Competitive’ Food and Beverage Policies: Are They Influencing Childhood Overweight Trends?

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This article explores whether new policies restricting ‘competitive’ foods and beverages in schools affected the increasing rates of overweight children in California. While the authors find that the rate of increase of overweight children did decrease significantly since the policies’ implementation, the extent to which the policies contributed to this rate of decrease in childhood More

Are ‘Competitive Foods’ Sold at School Making Our Children Fat?

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Competitive foods, or foods and beverages sold outside of the school lunch program, are often cited as a contributing factor to the high rates of childhood obesity in the U.S. This article reviews the current literature on the availability and nutritional content of competitive foods in schools and the effects of these foods on students’ More