Improvements in the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages consumed by children and adolescents could have an impact on obesity through improved dietary intake patterns. Food manufacturers have new incentives to reformulate foods in response to changes in the Nutrition Facts label (NFL) and serving sizes scheduled to go into effect in 2018. The overall goal of this study is to determine whether reformulation of foods typically consumed by children and adolescents has improved the healthiness of available foods, and to develop an understanding of the characteristics of food manufacturers that have reformulated foods. Specific aims are to: 1) assess types and frequencies of reformulation for packaged foods frequently purchased by households with children using household-based scanner data linked to nutrient content data; 2) estimate net changes in nutrients purchased by households with children across demographic groups; and 3) using regression analysis, determine the characteristics of food manufacturers that are more likely to reformulate foods to reduce calories, saturated fats, sugars, and sodium and increase fiber. Existing commercial datasets on food purchases, attributes of foods, and attributes of food manufacturers will be used.
Studying the Impact of Food Reformulation on Child and Adolescent Obesity and What Motivates Manufacturers to Reformulate Foods
Related Research
February 2016
Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies of Healthful Foods for Small Retail Food Stores
The healthfulness of foods and beverages found in retail food stores differs widely across the United States, both by location of the store as well as by store type. Some communities have limited access to stores that carry healthful staple foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grain-rich foods, and … More
March 2019
Promoting Responsive Bottle-Feeding Practices Among Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Mothers to Reduce Infants’ Rapid Weight Gain and Obesity
Bottle-fed infants are at significantly greater risk for overfeeding and rapid weight gain (RWG), yet few studies focus on promoting healthy feeding practices for bottle-feeding caregivers. Bottle-feeding caregivers receive little support related to learning appropriate bottle-feeding practices, and this problem is pronounced in low-income, minority populations at higher risk for … More
March 2019
Studying the Community Eligibility Provision’s Broad Impact–On Child Nutrition, Health, Academics, School Attendance, and Family Food Security
In 2010, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) initiated a number of major changes in child nutrition programs, including the establishment of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Implemented nationwide in SY 2014/15 to increase school meal participation and improve food security … More