Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs

Built Environment Assessment and Interventions for Obesity Prevention: Moving the Field Forward

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The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a special theme issue highlighting discussions and recommendations from the July 2013 Built Environment Assessment Training (BEAT) Institute meeting. The BEAT Institute was developed to train investigators to use observational and self-reported measures of nutrition and activity environments, integrating the disciplines of nutrition, physical activity, obesity prevention, urban More

Influence of School Competitive Food and Beverage Policies on Obesity, Consumption, and Availability

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In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an interim final rule containing nationwide standards for all competitive foods and beverages (CF&Bs). This review examines the influence of state laws and school district-level CF&B policies on student body mass index (BMI) and weight outcomes, consumption, and availability of CF&Bs in order to provide insight into More

Barriers to Equity in Nutritional Health for U.S. Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Literature

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This review summarizes growing evidence of disparities in the social and physical environments of U.S. children and adolescents that likely contribute to increased risk for obesity and poor nutrition. The review examines literature on disparities in nutrition and healthy food access in school, child-care, and residential neighborhood environments, food production and marketing practices, and cultural More

Policy Improves What Beverages are Served to Young Children in Child Care

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In 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began requiring that child-care sites participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) make drinking water available throughout the day and serve only low-fat or non-fat milk to children ages 2 years and older. In 2012, the California Healthy Beverages in Child Care law additionally required More

Is Scratch-Cooking a Cost-Effective Way to Prepare Healthy School Meals with U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods?

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This paper examines whether school lunch entrees made in a district from basic or raw U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods ingredients can be healthier and/or less expensive to prepare than those sent to external processers. Information on the nutritional content and cost to prepare entrees was gathered through interviews with school food service personnel and More

Assessing the Impact of Food Restrictions Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Food Choices by Children and Families

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Some public health advocates and policymakers are proposing restrictions on the types of foods eligible for purchase with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, such as sugary drinks and food products with minimal nutritional value. To date, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rejected all such proposals due to lack of research on whether More

Evaluating School Wellness Policies Following Implementation of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010: Updating the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT)

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The primary aim of this project is to revise and update the content and format of the WellSAT (Wellness School Assessment Tool, www.wellsat.org), an online quantitative measure for evaluating the quality of school wellness policies. Originally launched in 2009, the website has had thousands of visitors across all 50 states, and is used by policy-makers, More

Impact of the Revised Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Package Policy on Fruit and Vegetable Prices

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In 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was modified to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As part of the revisions, WIC added a fruit and vegetable (F/V) voucher to the food packages. This paper describes a quasi-experimental study that examined whether F/V More