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Food and beverage marketing influences the diets and health of children and adolescents. In 2019, fast-food restaurants spent $5 billion in total advertising to children. Black and Hispanic youth are disproportionally targeted by unhealthy food and beverage advertising compared to their White peers. The foods and beverages most heavily marketed to youth are for unhealthy products, high in calories, sugar, fat, and/or sodium, that do not align with national recommendations for healthful diets. Research in this area examines how the elements of marketing—including product, price, placement, and promotion—influence the food and beverage preferences and choices of children and youth, as well as their weight status, and how such elements can be used to promote healthier eating.
Research & Publications See all
July 2025
State Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Security: Results Among Economically At-Risk Households With Children
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the state Earned Income Tax Credit on food insecurity among economically at-risk U.S. households with children and explore differential effects across sociodemographic groups. The authors used an intent-to-treat causal inference design and household-level data from all 50 U.S. states available from the Current Population More
June 2025
Community Engaged Research Strategies Used in Food Retail Interventions: A Scoping Review
The purpose of this scoping review is to identify what community engagement (CE) research approaches have been applied by researchers in the retail food environment (RFE) intervention literature and how they vary by type of retail settings, phase of intervention, year of intervention, and key domains of equity. A total of 98 RFE interventions reported More
June 2025
Changes in SNAP Participation and Food Expenditures for Households with Children During the Pandemic
The purposes of this research were to explore the characteristics of households with children that joined SNAP after substantial changes were made to the program in the early stages of the pandemic and to learn how the changes affected food purchases. The research team used household-based scanner data to assess demographic characteristics and food purchase More
May 2025
Implementation Insights and Equity: Considerations for Summer EBT in 2024
In 2024, the US Department of Agriculture introduced a new federal nutrition initiative, the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program—also known as SUN Bucks. This program offers grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months to help address gaps in summer food assistance. In 2024, 37 states, all 5 US territories, and More