Assessing an Obesity Audit Tool and Determining Whether School Policies and Environments Predict Relative Weight Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of a brief, low-cost school environment audit tool, which is currently administered to all Pennsylvania Keystone Healthy Zone public schools. In addition, this research will also determine whether school policies and environments predict relative weight outcomes. The first phase of this work will More

Statewide Assessment of Local Wellness Policies in Pennsylvania Public School Districts

This paper assesses Pennsylvania public school district local wellness policies, compares the policies to local wellness policy mandate requirements and provides information about the local wellness policy development process. Researchers found that all required school districts in the state established a local wellness policy and almost all (85.6%-100%) met each mandate requirement (e.g., included goals More

Evaluating the Efficacy of a Healthy Corner Store Initiative in Reducing Childhood Obesity

This project will evaluate the efficacy of a community-based, environmental intervention in urban corner stores located near schools. By targeting multiple aspects of the corner store environment (e.g., social, educational, food availability), the goal of this intervention is to decrease the purchase of high calorie snacks and beverages and increase the percentage of healthy snacks More

Factors Associated with Successful Development and Implementation of School Wellness Policies

This project will be a natural experiment examining issues related to school wellness policy development and implementation, and changes in school nutrition environments as schools work to comply with the wellness policy mandate. The aims of this project are to describe adequacy of wellness policies submitted by Pennsylvania Local Education Agencies, assess level of policy More