Measuring the Impact of Menu Labeling in Schools on Student Food Choices

Point-of-purchase nutrition labeling policies are proposed as a mechanism to increase awareness of nutrient content, modify food selection decisions, reduce selections of energy dense foods and increase selections of nutrient dense foods. School meal programs offer an opportunity to extend these benefits to children, especially lower-income children, but there has been little research to support More

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

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

Lessons Learned from Evaluations of California’s Statewide School Nutrition Standards

This article evaluates the impact of legislation that established nutrition standards for competitive foods in California schools. Researchers found that regulation of competitive foods modestly improved school environments and student nutritional intake. Availability of nutrition standard-compliant foods and beverages increased, while availability of noncompliant items decreased. The authors conclude, however, that additional policies are needed More

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

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

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

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

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

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

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