Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs

Preventing Obesity Among Preschool Children: How Can Child-Care Settings Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity? A Research Synthesis

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The preschool years are a critically important period for developing healthy food preferences and motor skills. Since the majority of U.S. children are placed in some form of non-parental care during their preschool years, these settings provide opportunities to promote healthy eating and physical activity behaviors among preschool children. Given the widespread use of child More

Do Farm Subsidies Cause Obesity? Dispelling Common Myths About Public Health and the Farm Bill

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It is often argued that farm subsidies have led to the overproduction of commodity crops, and removing these subsidies would help combat obesity by discouraging overproduction of crops that are the base ingredients of unhealthy foods. This white paper analyzes the public health and agricultural economic literature and primary and secondary agriculture policy documents to More

What Role Can Child-Care Settings Play in Obesity Prevention? A Review of the Evidence and Call for Research Efforts

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This article summarizes the scientific literature on state regulations, practices and policies, and interventions for promoting healthy eating and physical activity, and for preventing obesity in preschool-aged children attending child care. Findings of the review indicate that most states lack strong healthy eating and physical activity regulations for child-care settings. Assessments of child-care settings suggest More

Healthy Food Availability and Participation in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in Food Stores Around Lower- and Higher-Income Elementary Schools

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This paper examines the range of food outlets around lower- and higher-income urban schools and compares the availability of healthy food items in those stores. It also examines whether stores accepting vouchers for WIC, a federal program for improving health and nutrition of lower-income mothers and their children, have more healthy items available than stores More

SNAP to Health: Recommendations to Improve Nutrition in the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal food assistance program in the United States. In April 2012, a record 46.2 million people—approximately 15% of the U.S. population—were enrolled in SNAP. Nearly 50 percent of SNAP beneficiaries are children. Given the significant reach SNAP has among the lower-income populations most vulnerable to food More

SNAP to Health: Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) to Assess the Nutrition of Youth, Ages 4-19, Participating in SNAP

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Given the significant reach and service the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance program has for lower-income populations most vulnerable to food insecurity and poor nutrition, there is an urgent need to obtain data about the nutrition of children who participate in SNAP to determine what foods are being consumed. This analysis was designed More

Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America

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This online Atlas provides a broad range of demographic, economic and agricultural data for rural and small towns across the United States. Users of the interactive mapping tool can create county-level maps and compare rural economic and social conditions among counties, states, or regions; or view a selected indicator for the entire United States or More

Exploring Ways to Strengthen the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to Improve Nutrition for Low-Income Children

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The objective of this research is to conduct a comprehensive survey of stakeholder groups to identify barriers and opportunities for improving nutrition in the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The survey will be designed with input from key informant interviews and distributed to over 500 key stakeholders involved with SNAP and other food assistance More