Health Affairs published a special issue focusing on the childhood obesity epidemic and the local, state, and federal policy approaches that could have greatest impact for helping to reverse it. The March 2010 publication, which discusses findings from dozens of studies, includes articles from three Healthy Eating Research grantees: Claudia Probart, PhD, RD, Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, ScD, More
This article examines Pennsylvania’s response to the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act of 2004. The analysis reveals that improvements were made to the nutritional quality of a la carte food choices offered in conjunction with school meal programs, according to respondents. However, the implementation of wellness policies in Pennsylvania was More
The purpose of the supplement is to present recent findings from RWJF grantees funded under the Healthy Eating Research and Active Living Research programs, as well as from RWJF’s Bridging the Gap program and Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Supplement content focuses primarily on adolescent obesity prevention and the need for More
This paper documents the reliability of a new coding tool developed to evaluate the quality of school wellness policies. The 96-item coding tool assesses seven goal areas, and each of these goal areas was scored on the dimensions of comprehensiveness and strength. To evaluate reliability, researchers from four states coded a sample of 60 policies More
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandated that school districts participating in any federally reimbursed school meal programs develop a local school wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. This brief, published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, summarizes key results from early research on the implementation of these More
This brief discusses key issue involved with foods distributed in school stores, concessions, and fundraising activities-venues for competitive foods. It outlines the legal and policy approaches to improving enforcement of school wellness policies and regulations, discusses what legal decision-making authority city officials, legislators, and community organizations have in the quality-improvement process, and discusses key barriers More
This brief discusses legal issues surrounding the provision of competitive foods in on-campus venues-including school stores and concessions and fundraising environments. Designed as a companion to Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food-School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising, this document provides readers with the information needed to identify key legal access points for creating their own policies More
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
This paper documents the effectiveness of the federal mandated Local Wellness Policy on 45 rural elementary schools in Colorado. Using baselines and follow-up surveys conducted up to one year after the Local Wellness Policy was implemented, researchers found that opportunities for physical activity did not change substantively. Interviews of sources revealed several barriers in improving More
Using data from the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, this study estimates the effects of school food environments on children’s consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, low-nutrient energy-dense foods and fruits and vegetables in school. The national study involved more than 2,300 children in 287 schools. Results demonstrated that sugar-sweetened beverages consumed at school contributed an More
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