Start Date: November 2010

ID #: 68243

Principal Investigator: Donna Johnson, RD, PhD

Organization: University of Washington

Funding Round: Round 5

See more related research

Share


Point-of-purchase nutrition labeling policies are proposed as a mechanism to increase awareness of nutrient content, modify food selection decisions, reduce selections of energy dense foods and increase selections of nutrient dense foods. School meal programs offer an opportunity to extend these benefits to children, especially lower-income children, but there has been little research to support the efficacy of nutrition labeling in schools. This project will take advantage of the planned introduction of a new electronic nutrition labeling initiative in Northshore School District high schools in Washington state to measure the impact of calorie labeling independently and in combination with education about calories in health classes. This study will be a quasi-experimental longitudinal study to determine the behavioral and nutritional impact of the two-phase intervention. The aims are to: 1) determine if adding point-of-purchase calorie information to foods sold in high school cafeterias is associated with changes in total energy, energy density or nutrient density of student food choices; 2) examine the impact that education directed at informing high school students about the meaning of calories and individual caloric needs, in conjunction with calorie labeling, has on food choices in a high school cafeteria; and 3) explore how and why students use calorie information in school cafeterias.

Related Research

April 2026

Policy Priorities and Research Needs for Advancing Healthy Eating: A 2026-2027 Research Agenda for U.S. Children and Adolescents

Given recent changes to nutrition policies and programs and the food environment landscape, the need for new evidence on how these changes impact nutrition, health, and food access is greater than ever. HER has also published a research agenda intended to provide a blueprint for immediate (i.e., 12-18 month) research needs to inform strategies to More

December 2025

From Policy to Plate: Implications of 2025 U.S. Federal Policy Changes on School Meals

School meals are a cornerstone of the United States’ nutrition safety net for children from low-income families, providing nearly 30 million lunches daily. However, recent U.S. policy actions may limit access to school meals for children who need them most. This commentary, published in the Nutrients Special Issue The Influence of School Meals on Children More

December 2025

Ultra-Processed Foods in School Meals: Challenges and Opportunities

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are ubiquitous in the U.S. food supply, while growing evidence shows that UPFs harm children’s health. Schools offer a promising setting to introduce UPF regulation and reduce the availability of UPFs. This brief explores the issue of UPFs in school meals and identifies opportunities and challenges to replace UPFs with more fresh More