UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health

In collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, the Rudd Center conducted a study that examined the 2021 USDA Summer Meal Program’s open sites in Connecticut. In order to learn more about the families who participate and their perception of the meal program, surveys were distributed at open meal sites across the state.

This research review summarizes the differences in school meal operational characteristics among rural, suburban, and urban school districts; discusses the specific challenges that impact the operation of rural school meal programs; and articulates opportunities for innovation in school meal programs in rural areas.

Children and adolescents living in rural communities are at increased risk of obesity and food insecurity. Schools can play an essential role in addressing diet-related disparities, but multiple factors can impact the cafeteria environment and student participation in school meal programs. This summary of the research review Rural Schools: Challenges and Opportunities for School Meal Programs highlights how school meal operational characteristics in rural schools compare to urban and suburban schools; identifies challenges that impact the operation of rural school meal programs; and presents opportunities for innovation.

Characterizing food pantry (FP) clients’ FP usage patterns may provide opportunities to tailor health-related interventions. Respondents (n = 245) at seven FPs reported their frequency and reliance on FPs and their sociodemographics, health status, and health-related trade-offs. Clients were categorized via latent class analysis. Higher FP usage was associated with being older, having a household member with heart disease, and putting off buying medicine to buy food. Lower FP usage was associated with higher levels of education and having a household member with cancer. Findings highlight the potential importance of measuring FP clients’ degree of FP use.

Full citation: Christopher R. Long, Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, Brett Rowland, Bonnie Faitak, Mary M. Bailey, Joel Gittelsohn, Caitlin E. Caspi, Jill Niemeier, Emily S. English & Pearl A. McElfish (2021): Food Pantry Usage Patterns are Associated with Client Sociodemographics and Health, Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2021.2001404

This article uses baseline data from an observational study to estimate the determinants of racial and gender disparities in obesity. Samples of low-income workers in Minneapolis and Raleigh reveal that respondents in Minneapolis have lower body mass indices (BMIs) than respondents in Raleigh. There are large, statistically significant race and gender effects in estimates of BMI that explain most of the disparity between the two cities. Accounting for intersectionality—the joint impacts of being Black and a woman—reveals that almost all the BMI gaps between Black women in Minneapolis and Raleigh can be explained by age and education differences.

Full citation: Durfee T, Myers Jr. S, Wolfson J, DeMarco M, Harnak L, Caspi C. The determinants of racial disparities in obesity: baseline evidence from a natural experiment. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review (2021) 1-26. https://www.doi.org/10.1017/age.2021.21.

Across the world, it remains legal to discriminate against people because of their weight. Although US studies demonstrate public support for laws to prohibit weight discrimination, multinational research is scarce. The present study conducted a multinational comparison of support for legislative measures to address weight discrimination and bullying across six countries.

Full citation: Puhl RM, Lessard LM, Pearl RL, Grupski A, Foster GD. Policies to address weight discrimination and bullying: Perspectives of adults engaged in weight management from six nations [published online ahead of print, 2021 Oct 5]. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021;10.1002/oby.23275. https://www.doi.org/10.1002/oby.23275

New multinational research suggests there is considerable public support to address weight discrimination across different countries. According to a new study by researchers at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, support is especially strong for improving anti-bullying policies in schools to better protect youth from being bullied about their weight, and for passing laws that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees because of their weight.

Sugar-sweetened beverages contribute a large proportion of added sugar in young children’s diets; yet, companies market sugar-sweetened children’s drinks extensively to children and parents. This study examines the changes in children’s drink purchases by U.S. households with young children and the associations with marketing practices.

Full citation: Yoon Y. Choi, Tatiana Andreyeva, Frances Fleming-Milici, Jennifer L. Harris. U.S. Households’ Children’s Drink Purchases: 2006–2017: Trends and Associations With Marketing, American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2021: ISSN 0749-3797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.06.013

There has been little recognition that people with type 2 diabetes are vulnerable to weight stigma and diabetes stigma, and almost no research examining the implications of these forms of stigma for their health and well-being. This study examined health behavior correlates of weight stigma and diabetes stigma in 1,227 adults with type 2 diabetes.

Full citation: Puhl RM, Himmelstein MS, Hateley-Browne JL, Speight J. Weight stigma and diabetes stigma in U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes: Associations with diabetes self-care behaviors and perceptions of health care. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2020;168:108387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2020.108387.

School meals can play an integral role in improving children’s diets and addressing health disparities. Initiatives and policies to increase consumption have the potential to ensure students benefit from the healthy school foods available. This systematic review evaluates studies examining initiatives, interventions, and policies to increase school meal consumption.

Full citation: Cohen, J.F.W.; Hecht, A.A.; Hager, E.R,; Turner, L.; Burkholder, K.; Schwartz, M.B. Strategies to Improve School Meal Consumption: A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2021, 13, 3520. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103520.