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Research Results Schools/After School
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Schools are a critical setting for addressing childhood obesity. More than 54 million U.S. children attend school, and 6.5 million youth are in after-school programs located in schools, parks and recreational centers. A substantial portion of school-aged children's daily food and caloric intake occurs within the school and after-school environment. The aim of the studies in this section is to understand how school food policies and environments can help prevent childhood obesity.
Title: Mobile Food Vending and the After-School Food Environment
RWJF Grant ID: 63049
Principal Investigator: Barbara Laraia, Ph.D.
Organization: University of California, San Francisco
Results: This article finds that mobile food vendors contribute to after-school snacking among children, and should be considered part of the school food environment. Based on data collected in Oakland, CA in the spring of 2008, researchers found a wide variety of vendors near schools. They include vendors who sell low-nutrient, calorie-dense items, such as ice cream and candy, and those who sell nutritious items, such as whole and processed (cut and bagged) fruits and vegetables. Forty percent of the whole and processed fruits and vegetables sold by vendors were consumed by children.
Title:‘Competitive’ Food and Beverage Policies: Are They Influencing Childhood Overweight Trends?
RWJF Grant ID: 65047
Principal Investigator: Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Organization: San Francisco State University
Results: This article explores whether new policies restricting ‘competitive’ foods and beverages in schools affected the increasing rates of overweight children in California. While the authors find that the rate of increase of overweight children did decrease significantly since the policies’ implementation, the extent to which the policies contributed to this rate of decrease in childhood overweight prevalence is unclear.
Title: Lessons from Pennsylvania’s Mixed Response to Federal School Wellness Law
RWJF Grant ID: 57927
Principal Investigator: Claudia Probart, Ph.D., R.D.
Organization: Pennsylvania State University
Results: 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 not consistently followed, and enforcement of the policies was weak.
Title: Are ‘Competitive Foods’ Sold at School Making Our Children Fat?
Authors: Nicole Larson, Ph.D., M.P.H, R.D.; Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D.
Organization: RWJF Healthy Eating Research national program office, University of Minnesota
Synopsis: Competitive foods, those sold in schools but outside of federally-regulated school meal programs, are often cited as a contributing factor to the high percentage of U.S. children who are overweight or obese. This article reviews the literature on the effects of competitive foods on students’ dietary intake and risk of obesity.
Title: To What Extent Have High Schools in California Been Able to Implement State-Mandated Nutrition Standards?
RWJF Grant ID: 57926
Principal Investigator: Patricia Crawford, Dr.PH., R.D.
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Results: This article examines the effects of the new food and beverage standards in a representative sample of 56 California high schools during the first year of implementation. Researchers found that the majority of high schools met the standards for beverages, while none of the schools that sold competitive foods were 100% adherent with the nutrient-based standards for foods. The authors conclude that adherence to beverage standards appear easier to achieve than food standards, due in part to the way the standards were written.
Title: Development and Validation of a Beverage and Snack Questionnaire for Use in Evaluation of School Nutrition Policies
RWJF Grant ID: 57932
Principal Investigator: Donna B. Johnson, R.D., Ph.D.
Organization:
Title: Impact of
RWJF Grant ID: 57932
Principal Investigator: Donna B. Johnson, R.D., Ph.D.
Organization:
Title: A Comprehensive Coding System to Measure the Quality of School Wellness Policies
RWJF Grant IDs: 57923, 57927, 57932
Principal Investigators: Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D.; Claudia Probart, Ph.D., R.D.; Donna Johnson, Ph.D., R.D.
Organizations: Yale University (Schwartz); Pennsylvania State University (Probart); University of Washington (Johnson)
Results: This paper documents the reliability of a new coding tool developed to evaluate the quality of school wellness policies. The 96-item coding tool assesses seven goal areas, and each of these goal areas was scored on the dimensions of comprehensiveness and strength. To evaluate reliability, researchers from four states coded a sample of 60 policies between July 2007 and July 2008. The coding system provides a reliable method for analyzing and comparing school district wellness policies in single or multistate studies.
Title: Association between School Food Environment and Practices and Body Mass Index of U.S. Public School Children
RWJF Grant ID: 57930
Principal Investigator: Ronette Briefel, Dr.P.H., R.D.
Organization: Mathematica Policy Research
Results: 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 findings suggest that offering low-nutrient, energy-dense foods (french fries, desserts) more than once a week (in elementary schools) or in vending machines (in middle schools) is associated with a higher likelihood of obesity.
Title: School Food Environments and Practices Affect Dietary Behaviors of U.S. Public School Children
RWJF Grant ID: 57930
Principal Investigator: Ronette Briefel, Dr.P.H., R.D.
Organization: Mathematica Policy Research
Results: 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 average of 29 kcal per middle school student and 46 kcal per high school student. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was lower in children attending schools: without stores and snack bars (in middle and high schools); not offering a la carte offerings (in middle schools); not having a pouring rights contract (in middle schools); and not offering french fries (in high schools).
Title: Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food-Open Campus Lunch
RWJF Grant ID: 63047
Principal Investigator: Marlo R. Miura, M.A., J.D.
Organization: Public Health Advocacy Institute
Results: This brief discusses open-campus and off-campus lunch policies, which allow high school students to go outside school boundaries to buy and eat food during their lunch breaks. The document addresses how such policies are established, nutritional implications, racial and socioeconomic considerations, safety issues and effect on on-campus and local businesses. From this discussion, readers can evaluate individual policies on off-campus lunch.
Title: Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food-School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising
RWJF Grant ID: 63047
Principal Investigator: Marlo R. Miura, M.A., J.D.
Organization: Public Health Advocacy Institute
Results: 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 to providing more nutritious food choices in these particular venues. From this discussion, readers can evaluate individual policies on on-campus competitive foods.
Source: Smith JA. Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food-School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising. Public Health Advocacy Institute. February 2009. Title: Legal Notes: Open Campus Lunch (from "Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food")
RWJF Grant ID: 63047
Principal Investigator: Marlo R. Miura, M.A., J.D.
Organization: Public Health Advocacy Institute
Results: This document, a companion to "Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food-Open Campus Lunch," provides a legal framework for the issues surrounding open-campus lunch policies, which allow high school students to go off-campus to purchase and eat lunch. The purpose of the document is to help readers identify key legal access points for reaching policy goals regarding open-campus lunch policies.
Title: Legal Notes: School Stores, Concessions, and Fundraising (from "Off the Map: Extracurricular School Food")
RWJF Grant ID: 63047
Principal Investigator: Marlo R. Miura, M.A., J.D.
Organization: Public Health Advocacy Institute
Results: 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 in this area.
Title: Food Prices and Weight Gain During Elementary School: 5-year Update
RWJF Grant ID: 57931
Principal Investigator: Roland Sturm, Ph.D.
Organization: RAND Corporation
Results: Elementary school children in communities with high produce prices are more likely to gain weight than those areas with low produce costs, according to a study published in Public Health. The study, Food Prices and Weight Gain During Elementary School: 5-year Update, showed that children who lived in the 15 areas where fruits and vegetables were most expensive (relative to cost-of-living) gained 4 pounds more between kindergarten and fifth grade than children living in the 15 areas where fruits and vegetables were least expensive.
Title: The Effect of Soft Drink Availability in Elementary Schools on Consumption
RWJF Grant ID: 57931
Principal Investigator: Roland Sturm, Ph.D.
Organization: RAND Corporation
Results: A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds that limiting the availability of soft drinks in elementary schools may not significantly affect overall soda consumption by children. The study found that limiting soft drink availability in elementary schools was associated with only a 4 percent reduced likelihood of any consumption in the past week. For those with soft drinks available at school, rates of at school and overall consumption were highest among African-American children, children from low-income households and those who reside in rural areas.
Title: The Federal Child Nutrition Commodity Program: A Report on Nutritional Quality
RWJF Grant ID: 57925
Principal Investigator: Kenneth Hecht, L.L.B.
Organization: California Food Policy Advocates
Results: This report found that school districts fail to take advantage of healthier foods offered by the federal child nutrition commodity program, despite improvements in the nutritional quality of foods offered to schools by USDA. The study found that, in California, meat and cheese products accounted for more than 82% of the dollars spent on commodity foods, while only 13% were used to purchase fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Nationally, the study found that more than 50% of commodity foods are sent to processors before they arrive at schools. Processing is completely unregulated as to nutritional quality. As a result, the items most frequently purchased-ground beef, cheese and chicken-are served to children as hamburgers, pizza and chicken nuggets, which are high in calories and saturated fat. School districts need assistance in using the commodity program wisely and fully to assure the highest nutritional meal quality for their students.
Title: School Food Environments and Policies in U.S. Public Schools
RWJF Grant ID: 57930
Principal Investigator: Ronette Briefel, Dr.PH., R.D.
Organization: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Results: Based on 2005 data, this study found that 97% of high schools and 82% of middle schools had vending machines, compared with 17% of elementary schools. In addition, 93% of high schools and 92% of middle schools sold food and beverages a la carte, and nearly 80% of these schools offered unhealthy a la carte options. About 55% of schools examined had an agreement with a beverage company that allowed the company to be the sole distributor of sodas and other beverages in the school. Schools with a higher percentage of children from low-income families were significantly less likely to offer fruits or raw vegetables each day. But no association was found between schools' overall food environment and the percentage of students who were racial/ethnic minorities or who were certified for free or reduced-price school lunches.
Title: First Amendment Implications of Restricting Food and Beverage Marketing in Schools
RWJF Grant ID: 57936
Principal Investigator: Marice Ashe, J.D., M.P.H.
Organization: Public Health Institute, Public Health Law Program
Results: How does First Amendment protection affect food and beverage marketing in schools? This study concludes that while the First Amendment keeps a "tight rein" on those who want to restrict advertising to adults, it does "give public school districts significant leeway to curb advertising directed at their student bodies."
Title: Disparities in the Food Environment Surrounding U.S. Middle and High Schools
RWJF Grant ID: 57931
Principal Investigator: Roland Sturm, Ph.D.
Organization: RAND Corporation
Results: Easy availability of snacks, sodas, alcohol, and fast food in the immediate vicinity of a school could easily negate school food policies. Surrounding food outlets could also lower the effectiveness of health education in the classroom by setting a highly visible example that counters educational messages. The most pernicious one is arguably the location of liquor stores, which are more prevalent around schools with higher minorities and lower-income youth and these disparities may represent a kind of environmental injustice. There are fewer other differences by race and ethnicity, although Hispanic youth are particularly likely to be in schools that are surrounded by convenience stores, restaurants, or snack stores. This effect is independent and in addition to poverty (i.e., students eligible for free lunch or schools that are Title I eligible) or location (urban core, suburban, town, rural).
Title: Mapping School Food: A Policy Guide
RWJF Grant ID: 57921
Principal Investigator: Jason Smith, M.T.S., J.D.
Organization: Public Health Advocacy Institute
Results: School food environments are complex, particularly because they must function within a plethora of state, federal and local regulations. Individuals who work in this system-food service directors, superintendents, or others involved school food policy-are often left to their own devices to navigate the complex interplay of laws. In this study, legal researchers guide advocates in identifying obstacles and opportunities to changing the school food environment.
Title: Healthy Beverage Vending Agreement
RWJF Grant ID: 57936
Principal Investigator: Marice Ashe, J.D., M.P.H.
Organization: Public Health Institute, Public Health Law Program
Results: Are school districts getting the most favorable terms in their vending contracts? A sample vending contract developed as a part of this study illustrates areas where existing contracts may be deficient. The study also examines how vendor contracts should address factors such as labeling, service and delivery requirements prices, scope of the contract, terms of agreement, and promotion and advertising rights.
Title: Nutrition Advocacy in the American Federal System
RWJF Grant ID: 57936
Principal Investigator: Marice Ashe, J.D., M.P.H.
Organization: Public Health Institute, Public Health Law Program
Results: In attempts to improve child nutrition, advocacy groups can work at the state and local levels. But state and local governments often lack the final say. In addition to subjecting state and local initiatives to constitutional challenges, preemptive legislation can also be used to void strict state or local laws. This paper discusses preemption at both the federal and state level, as well as other tactics that are used to foil state and local regulations.
Source: Chiodini S. Nutrition Advocacy in the American Federal System. Public Health Law and Policy.
Title: Access to Public Meetings and Records: What Nutrition Advocates Need to Know
RWJF Grant ID: 57936
Principal Investigator: Marice Ashe, J.D., M.P.H.
Organization: Public Health Institute, Public Health Law Program
Results: In all 50 states, local governments have adopted some form of "public access laws" that help people obtain copies of public records and attend public meetings so that they may engage in the democratic process. This paper provides nutrition advocates with a basic understanding of how public access laws can help them influence government decision-making at various levels-and ultimately improve the quality and availability of nutritious foods in our nation's schools.
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