The provision of nutrition information on food packaging is one strategy to help consumers make food choices. The federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act enacted in 1990 requires that almost all packaged foods bear a Nutrition Facts panel which includes information such as serving size, calories, and certain nutrients. Despite the availability of this information, More
This legal issue brief focuses on “pester power” food and beverage marketing, in which young children are targeted by marketers in an effort to get them to encourage their parents to purchase products for them. In the brief, pester power marketing is analyzed under existing state consumer protection laws and two primary legal theories: (1) More
This report summarizes findings from a 50-state survey of state consumer protection laws to identify key statutes that hold promise to protect children when they are the targets of marketing for unhealthy food and beverage marketing. The authors apply a consumer protection legal framework by dividing children’s food and beverage marketing into three categories: a) More
This paper discusses the impact of early elementary school attendance on children’s body weight. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 (ECLS-K), researchers compared the weights of children who had completed first grade to those of the same age who had completed kindergarten only. Employing a regression-discontinuity (RD) design, researchers found More
The impact of family food purchasing on child obesity is understudied, and little is known about the roles that consumer shopping behavior and local prices for goods with different nutritional content play in determining obesity prevalence. This project will use unique, nationally-representative scanned UPC data collected by Nielsen over a 12-year period on consumer grocery More
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 includes the first increase in the reimbursement rate for school meals in over 30 years and will likely become effective in 2012-2013. The rationale for increasing this rate is to induce schools to offer more nutritious meals. However, there is almost no previous research about whether schools will More
This project will provide new data about the potential for local governments to take meaningful action to prevent childhood obesity through policy implementation in child-care settings. Because local laws often serve as drivers of state law, this research will help inform childhood obesity prevention policy both at state and local levels around the nation. This More
This study will examine the potential effects of regulating the sale of competitive foods and beverages in schools, a lever which policy-makers may use to positively influence children’s consumption behaviors to reduce the prevalence of obesity among children. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with increased capacity More
Evidence indicates that sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes may reduce rates of childhood obesity, particularly among high-risk populations. However, state and local efforts to enact SSB taxes have been unsuccessful, and public opinion research indicates limited support for these policies. Enactment of SSB taxes will be unlikely without public support, yet little research is available to More
Children and adolescents are not consuming enough water. Since children spend most of their day in school and child care settings, ensuring that safe, potable water is available in these settings is essential. This article identifies challenges that limit access to drinking water, including deteriorating drinking water infrastructure, limited drinking water availability, insufficient federal meal More
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