Food and Beverage Marketing to Children and Adolescents: Limited Progress by 2012, Recommendations for the Future. An Issue Brief

The marketing of high-calorie and nutrient-poor foods and beverages is linked to overweight and obesity in the United States. American youths are still exposed to a disproportionate amount of marketing for unhealthy products across a variety of media and an examination of research and policy trends related to food and beverage marketing shows that industry More

A Qualitative Study of Diverse Experts’ Views About Barriers and Strategies to Improve the Diets and Health of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Beneficiaries

This study engaged experts from diverse sectors to explore their opinions concerning the existing challenges to eating nutritiously in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program and propose strategies for improving the diets and health of SNAP recipients. The high cost of nutrient-rich foods, inadequate SNAP benefits amounts, and environmental factors associated with poverty were More

Evaluating the Impact of the Veggie Van Program in Underserved Communities on Youths’ Dietary Intake

This study will evaluate an intervention delivered by community partners, the “Veggie Van” mobile market, a van service that sells weekly boxes of reduced-cost, fresh, North Carolina-grown fruits and vegetables and provides nutrition education, taste testing, and cooking demonstrations. Specific aims of the study are to: 1) determine the impact of the Veggie Van on More

Fast-Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Youth Body Composition. Working Paper 18640

This paper discusses the results of the first study to analyze the effects of fast-food advertising on body composition among youths as measured by percentage body fat (PBF). The study also examined the sensitivity of these effects to measuring youth obesity using body mass index (BMI). Researchers found that exposure to fast-food restaurant advertising on More

Eye-Tracking Children’s Fast-Food Choices as Influenced by Television Advertising

Children are increasingly exposed to fast-food advertising and are increasingly consuming food from fast-food sources. Under the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), fast-food companies continue to promote fast food to children. Ads directed at children under the age of 12 usually include a variety of components featuring the brand logo, and a mix More

Evaluating the Effectiveness of New Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages in Massachusetts Schools

In accordance with a Massachusetts school nutrition bill (105 CMR 225.000) passed in 2010, the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Elementary and Secondary Education have developed new nutrition standards for all competitive foods and beverages served in schools in the state. These standards will be the most comprehensive in the U.S. and most closely More

Attractive Names Sustain Increased Vegetable Intake in Schools

This article describes two studies on how attractive naming can be implemented in schools to encourage healthier eating in a cost-effective and scalable way. In Study 1, researchers found that children ate more of their carrots when the carrots were named “X-ray Vision Carrots” than when they were named “Food of the Day” or unnamed. More

Fruit and Vegetable Availability and Selection: Federal Food Package Revisions, 2009

This article describes the results of a study that examined changes in fruit and vegetable (FV) availability and selection at Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) vendors before and after implementation of the 2009 revised WIC food packages in Illinois. Overall, availability and selection of commonly consumed fresh FV and availability More