In-store food marketing can influence food purchasing behaviors, but much remains to be learned about what food marketing practices in grocery stores can help address the growing burden of obesity. This paper synthesizes research and publications from industry and academic sources on the topic and provides direction for developing and evaluating promising interventions. Findings from More
This website provides a compilation of articles that include community-level measures of the food environment, as well as some of the instruments themselves. The food environment is defined to include food stores, restaurants, schools and worksites. This website is updated on a weekly basis.
This paper estimates the effects of junk food availability on body mass index (BMI), obesity, and related outcomes among a national sample of fifth graders. The researchers found that junk food availability does not significantly increase BMI or obesity among this fifth-grade cohort despite the increased likelihood of in-school junk food purchases. Estimates suggest that More
In recent years, public health practitioners have aimed to improve the food environment and purchasing patterns in small food stores, yet studies summarizing these interventions and their effectiveness are lacking. This paper reviews small-store interventions and discusses their impact on healthy food access and consumption. Findings of the review indicate that small-store interventions significantly improve More
This study will examine the impact of the opening of a new grocery store in a lower-income, multi-ethnic neighborhood in San Francisco. This research team has already collected two sets of baseline data from the neighborhood prior to the opening of the grocery store. This new project will allow for a final wave of endpoint More
Santa Clara County, California was the first U.S. jurisdiction to implement an ordinance that prohibits the distribution of toys and other incentives to children with meals, foods, or beverages that do not meet minimal nutrition criteria. This paper examines how ordinance-affected restaurants changed their children’s menus, child-directed marketing, and toy distribution practices relative to non-affected More
This paper examines the association between the rural food environment and rural lower-income children’s food consumption and obesity rates in six rural towns in Maine. Researchers found few significant relationships between the community food environment and the home food environment. A marginally significant relationship was found between the distance parents traveled to shop and the More
Some legal scholars suggest that kids’ meal advertising constitutes false advertising because of its emphasis on toy premiums and movie tie-ins rather than food. Yet no one has assessed how the target population perceives such advertising. This study examines whether the emphasis on toy premiums and tie-ins in such ads misleads children to primarily associate More
Providing easily understandable caloric information may be a low-cost strategy for lowering overall caloric intake among groups at high risk for obesity, particularly Black and Hispanic adolescents ages 12 to 18. The aims of the study are to: 1) examine if providing caloric information on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) significantly reduces the frequency and volume of More
This paper examines the assumptions that consumers know how many calories they should consume throughout the course of a day and customers improperly estimate the number of calories in their fast food order. It then examines whether mandatory menu labeling influences either of these assumptions. Based on receipt and survey data collected from consumers outside More
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