UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health

Residents of Howard County, Maryland bought fewer sugary drinks compared to residents in a control community after extensive community engagement, a media campaign, and policy changes — according to a study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. The study, published in AJPM Focus, tracked supermarket sales data to measure the effectiveness of the community-led campaign which was designed to reduce consumption of sugary drinks, the largest source of calories and sugar in our diets. The researchers compared sales data in 2012, before the campaign began, to sales data for each successive year and found notable declines in purchases over the six-year period.

End Hunger Connecticut! (EHC!), national and local leaders, and nutrition policy experts and advocates came together on July 15, at Joseph O. Goodwin Elementary School in East Hartford, CT to discuss summer and school meals for children in Connecticut. EHC! convened leaders and experts for a roundtable to discuss important topics concerning the future of child nutrition in CT. Following the discussion, attendees met with children at the Goodwin Park summer meals site, operated by East Hartford Food Service Director Shari Staeb who manages several summer meals sites throughout the city of East Hartford.

Despite its advantages to children and child care programs, CACFP is not used by many eligible providers, and little is known about their motivation to participate. The user-friendliness and quality of state CACFP agency websites is potentially one important factor influencing CACFP access in each state. This assessment aims to investigate a possible relationship between CACFP website quality scores and CACFP participation rates among licensed child care centers. Recommendations that may improve the user-friendliness of websites are also offered.

Full citation: McCann, M., Prager, J., Andreyeva, T. (2022). The Child and Adult Care Food Program: Evaluation of State Agency Websites. UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health. https://uconnruddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2909/2022/06/CACFP_FactSheet-062722.pdf

This study adapted and validated the NEMS-S in Costa Rica. Twenty-nine food stores were assessed, three times, by two raters. Inter-rater precision and intra-rater stability were quantified. The instrument has moderate to excellent precision and stability, has construct validity, and can be useful to develop policies that encourage healthy environments in food stores.

Full citation: Golfin, F., Murillo, C., Jensen, M. L., & Frongillo, E. A. (2022). Adaptation and validation of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S) in Costa Rica. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2022.2088262

Formula companies aggressively market toddler milks to parents of young children in deceptive ways. This handout briefly explains how toddler milks are not as healthy as marketed. Toddler milks have more sodium and less protein than plain milk and can cost four times as much! Research shows that providing sugary drinks to toddlers likely increases their preference for sweet beverages and may cause them to dislike unsweetened drinks.

Full citation: Mancini, S. (2022). Toddler Milks: Sugary Drinks in Disguise. UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health. https://uconnruddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2909/2022/06/Toddler_Milk_Fact_Sheet-final.pdf

This is an analysis of secondary, environment-level outcomes in a food pantry intervention (SuperShelf); the study evaluates whether the intervention resulted in measurable changes to the food pantry environment and improved diet quality of the food available to clients, compared with a control group of food pantries. Eleven food pantries were randomized to an intervention (n = 5) or control (n = 6) condition and completed baseline and one-year follow-up measures between 2018 and 2020. The intervention was implemented with high fidelity at five sites, with some evidence of change in the nutritional quality of the food available on the shelf to clients.

Full citation: Caspi, C., Gordon, N., Bliss Barsness, C., Bohen, L., Canterbury, M., Peterson, H., Wolfson, J., & Pratt, R. (2022). A randomized study of food pantry environment-level change following the SuperShelf intervention. Translational Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac003

On behalf of the World Health Organization, this systematic literature review and meta-analysis sought to assess the associations of implemented sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes with prices, sales, consumption, diet, body weight, product changes, unintended consequences, health, and pregnancy outcomes. A total of 86 eligible articles were assessed for the systematic review and 62 for the meta-analysis. The results suggested that SSB taxes may work as intended in reducing demand for sugar sweetened beverages through higher prices.

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Marple K, Marinello S, Moore TE, Powell LM. (2022). Outcomes Following Taxation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 5(6), 1-18. DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.15276

On behalf of the World Health Organization, this systematic literature review and meta-analysis sought to assess the outcomes of implemented food taxes and subsidies for prices, sales, consumption, and population-level diet and health. A total of 54 eligible articles were assessed for the systematic review and 15 for the meta-analysis. Results of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that fruit and vegetable subsidies were associated with a moderate increase in fruit and vegetable sales.

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Marple K, Moore TE, Powell LM. (2022). Evaluation of Economic and Health Outcomes Associated With Food Taxes and Subsidies: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 5(6), 1-15. DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14371

This cross-sectional online survey of US caregivers of infants (6–11 months) who provided formula in the past month (N = 436) examined the proportion of infant caregivers who reported serving modified formula, demographic differences, and reasons for providing them. Approximately one-half (47%) of participants reported serving modified formula most often; sensitive and organic/non-GMO were the most common types provided. Agreement with reasons for providing was highest for “pediatricians recommend” and “benefits my child”.

Full citation: Gershman, H., Romo-Palafox, M. J., Rajeh, T., Fleming-Milici, F., & Harris, J. L. Exploring infant caregivers’ provision of modified formulas: Potential demographic differences and reasons for provisions. Frontiers in Nutrition, 955. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.867932

Inequities in the U.S. food system leads to disproportionately high rates of diet-related diseases and premature death in communities of color. One of those inequities, fast-food restaurant marketing that targets Black and Latinx youth, exacerbates diet-related health disparities. This brief examines the nature and type of fast-food restaurants’ public racial justice statements made in spring/summer 2020. It also discusses implications for public health advocacy to address the commercial determinants of health, including the negative impact of fast-food marketing on Black and Latinx youths’ diets and health.

Full citation: Mancini, S., McCann, M.,  & Harris, J. L. (2022). Fast-food companies’ racial justice statements and targeted marketing practices. UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health. https://uconnruddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2909/2022/05/Racial_Justice_051822.pdf