Many communities across America are changing public policy, community environments, and industry practices to better support healthy eating, physical activity, and healthier choices for kids and families so that all children are able to grow up at a healthy weight, and have a healthy start in life. Yet, with more than 23.5 million U.S. children and adolescents – nearly one in three young people – already overweight or obese, childhood obesity remains one of the most urgent health challenges of our time. Research in this area focuses on overweight and obesity trends, the impact of policies, systems, and environments on weight status, and interventions that promote a healthy weight.
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Healthy Weight
Research & Publications
April 2020
Food Environment Near Schools and Body weight-A Systematic Review of Associations by race/ethnicity, Gender, Grade, and Socio-Economic Factors
Previous research reported modest associations between food environments near schools and adiposity among children overall. The associations within sociodemographic subgroups have not been synthesized. This review assessed the evidence on the associations between food environments near schools and childhood obesity within different demographic and socio-economic subgroups. PubMed and Scopus databases … More
November 2019
Use of Electronic Health Record Data to Study the Association of Sugary Drink Consumption With Child Weight Status
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and, to some extent, fruit juice are modifiable risk factors for childhood obesity. Data on consumption have not been previously systematically collected in the electronic health record (EHR) in a way that could facilitate observational research and population health management. In 2017 to 2018, we used data … More
October 2019
A Framework for Increasing Equity Impact in Obesity Prevention
One of the most pressing unmet challenges for preventing and controlling epidemic obesity is ensuring that socially disadvantaged populations benefit from relevant public health interventions. Obesity levels are disproportionately high in ethnic minority, low-income, and other socially marginalized U.S. population groups. Current policy, systems, and environmental change interventions target obesity-promoting … More
March 2016
The Impact of the First 1,000 Days on Childhood Obesity
The first 1,000 days, or the period from conception through age 2, is increasingly recognized as a critical period for the development of childhood obesity and its adverse consequences. This issue brief is based on two review papers that examined evidence on risk factors for developing childhood obesity and interventions … More