Lessons from Pennsylvania’s Mixed Response to Federal School Wellness Law

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

Adolescent Obesity: Towards Evidence-Based Policy and Environmental Solutions

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

Local School Wellness Policies: How Are Schools Implementing the Congressional Mandate? A Research Brief

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

Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food: School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising

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

Legal Notes: School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising. Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food

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 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

Early Impact of the Federally Mandated Local Wellness Policy on Physical Activity in Rural, Low-Income Elementary Schools in Colorado

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

School Food Environments and Practices Affect Dietary Behaviors of U.S. Public School Children

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

Association Between School Food Environment and Practices and Body Mass Index of U.S. Public School Children

Using data from the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, this study estimates the association between school food environments and practices and children’s likelihood for obesity. (Obesity was defined as having a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile for their age.) The national study involved more than 2,200 children in 287 schools. The More