Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes and Public Health. A Research Brief

This research brief examines the latest information on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and food pricing strategies. The brief concludes that taxes resulting in substantially higher prices of SSBs could be a powerful policy tool for curbing obesity rates by leading people to reduce consumption.

Food Systems and Public Health Disparities

This article reviews literature examining the impact food systems have on creating and exacerbating health disparities in the United States. It highlights directions for future research and policies to address the health disparities created by food systems.

Measurement of the Food and Physical Activity Environments: Enhancing Research Relevant to Policy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Weight

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) published proceedings from a November 2007 workshop on “Measures of the Food and Built Environments.” The workshop was co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) National Cancer Institute; the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver More

Schools and Obesity Prevention: Creating School Environments and Policies to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

Schools have an unparalleled opportunity to promote children’s health by creating an environment in which children eat healthy foods, engage in regular physical activity, and learn life-long skills for healthy eating and active living. In this article, authors discuss the role of schools in obesity prevention efforts, current issues in schools’ food and physical activity More

Food Prices and Weight Gain During Elementary School: 5-Year Update

Elementary school children in communities with high produce prices are more likely to gain weight than those areas with low produce costs, according to a study published in Public Health. The study, Food Prices and Weight Gain During Elementary School: 5-year Update, showed that children who lived in the 15 areas where fruits and vegetables More

Analyzing the Financial Impact of Selling Healthy Versus Unhealthy Foods on a Small Store in a Low-Income Neighborhood

To better understand how to improve healthy food access in low-income neighborhoods, the aim of this study is to examine financial incentives around selling specific types of food. Specifically, this research will: (a) analyze the financial benefits of selling healthy and unhealthy food items from the perspective of a small food store business in a More

Identifying and Evaluating Food Environment Changes Improving Access to Affordable Healthy Foods in Low-Income Communities

The goal of this research is to evaluate the Fresh to You (FTY) program, which aims to increase year-round access to affordable, high-quality, fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income families through implementation of year-round discount fruit and vegetable markets in community organizations. Specifically, this work will consist of (a) conducting process evaluations of FTY in More

Evaluating Nutrition Policies and Practices in U.S. Secondary Schools

This aim of this work is to evaluate disparities in school-level nutrition policies and practices across the U.S. More specifically, the objective of this research is to (a) determine the prevalence of school-level nutrition policies and practices in a large sample of schools across multiple states stratified by school-level socioeconomic status, geographic location, and racial/ethnic More