UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Online survey data from 2 panel survey samples between September and December 2021: youth aged 10 to 17 years (n = 2032) and parents of youth aged 10 to 17 years (n = 1936) were collected to assess perspectives of weight-based terminology in 2 racially/ethnically diverse samples of youth and parents. Youth reported preferences for words such as “healthy weight” and dislike of terms such as “obese,” “fat,” and “large,” which induced feelings of sadness, shame, and embarrassment. Differences in youth preferences and emotional reactions were present across sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and weight status.

Full citation: Puhl, R., Lessard, L. M., Foster, G. D., & Cardel, M. I. (2022).Patient and Family Perspectives on Terms for Obesity.  Pediatrics e2022058204. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-058204

U.S. food companies disproportionately target Black and Hispanic consumers with marketing for high-calorie, low-nutrient products including candy, sugary drinks, snacks, and fast food. The more than one billion spent on this targeted marketing exacerbates inequities in poor diet and diet-related diseases in communities of color, including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

This report updates the Rudd Center’s previous report on ethnically targeted advertising of packaged foods and beverages that examined 2017 data. Since then, TV viewing habits and advertising trends have changed dramatically. This report examines how these broader viewing and advertising trends have impacted ethnically targeted food advertising is unknown.

Two waves of data (2018 [baseline], 2019) and included 219 and 321 low-wage workers in Minneapolis and Raleigh (respectively) were collected to determine whether an increase in hourly wages was associated with changes in food security and perceived stress among low-wage workers. Average hourly wages increased from US$9.77 (SD US$1.69) to US$11.67 (SD US$4.02). Changes in wages were not associated with changes in food security  or stress  after 1 year of policy implementation. Changes in food security were not associated with changes in diet. However, we found significant changes in the frequency of fruit and vegetable intake across time by levels of stress, with decreased intake from Wave 1 to 2 at low levels of stress, and increased intake at high levels of stress.

Full citation: Chapman, L. E., Berkowitz, S. A., Ammerman, A., De Marco, M., Ng, S. W., Zimmer, C., & Caspi, C. E. (2022). Examining Changes in Food Security, Perceived Stress, and Dietary Intake in a Cohort of Low-Wage Workers Experiencing an Increase in Hourly Wage. Health Promotion Practice, 15248399221128005. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221128005

U.S. food and beverage companies disproportionately target Black and Hispanic consumers with advertising for high-calorie, low-nutrient products, including candy, sugary drinks, and snacks, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut. The millions they spend on this targeted marketing contribute to inequities in diet-related diseases heavily affecting communities of color, including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

This study tested the effects of countermarketing videos addressing common misperceptions about ingredients and claims on children’s sugary drinks. An online randomized controlled experiment was conducted in January 2021 with US caregivers (n = 600) of young children (aged 8‒37 months) to assess the effects of watching countermarketing versus control videos on intentions to serve sugary and healthy drinks  and attitudes about fruit drinks and toddler milks. The countermarketing videos significantly reduced positive attitudes about fruit drinks and toddler milks, reduced intentions to serve both, and increased intentions to serve plain milk versus control videos . Intentions differed by individual characteristics, but the videos remained effective after controlling for these characteristics.

Full citation: Harris, J. L., Phaneuf, L., & Fleming-Milici, F. (2022). Effects of Sugary Drink Countermarketing Videos on Caregivers’ Attitudes and Intentions to Serve Fruit Drinks and Toddler Milks to Young Children. American Journal of Public Health, 112(S8), S807-S816.

On September 28^th, the White House convened the first National Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health since 1969. The event featured keynote speeches by President Biden and Chef José Andrés, panel discussions that brought together leaders from the public and private sectors, and exciting opportunities for advocates to discuss the work they are doing around the country.

Now, three weeks after the Conference, what’s next? What actions have been taken as a result of this historic event? And what changes can we expect to see in the future?

The Charitable Food Nutrition Index (CFNI) summarizes the overall nutritional quality of a set of foods into a single score. It is based on the percentages of ranked foods according to HER Guidelines or SWAP tools, and it can be applied at all levels of the charitable food system: food ordered, procured, stocked, or distributed to clients.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools provided free school meals to all students in the United States, but this national universal school meals (USM) policy ended in school year (SY) 2022–2023; however, a few states have adopted policies to continue USM statewide for SY 2022–2023. We conducted a study with 43 school food authorities (SFAs) in Maine (with a USM policy) to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 and the concurrent implementation of USM, as well as examine differences in implementation by school characteristics, throughout the state. SFAs reported multiple benefits of USM including increased school meal participation; reductions in the perceived stigma for students from lower-income households and their families; and no longer experiencing unpaid meal charges and debt.

Full citation: Cohen, J., Polacsek, M., Hecht, C.E., Hecht, K., Read, M., Olarte, D., Patel., A., Schwartz, M.B., Turner, L., Zuercher, M., Gosliner, W., Richie., L. (2022) Implementation of Universal School Meals during COVID-19 and beyond:  Challenges and Benefits for School Meals Programs in Maine. Nutrients, 14(19):4031. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14194031

This study aimed to validate the Healthy Eating Research (HER) nutrition guidelines ranked system against the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI) and develop a formula to summarize the percentages of tier-ranked foods in an overall nutritional quality index that correlated with HEI. Using secondary data of foods selected by clients in 16 Minnesota food pantries (n = 503 “client carts”), results showed HEI scores were positively associated with percentages of green foods and negatively associated with percentages of red foods. The index demonstrated a moderate-to-strong correlation with HEI and can be used as a single measure to summarize the overall nutritional quality for sets of tier-ranked foods

Full citation: Gombi-Vaca, M.F., Xu, R., Schwartz, M., Battista Hesse, M., Martin, K., Caspi, C.E. (2022) Validating a Nutrition Ranking System for Food Pantries Using the Healthy Eating Index-2015. Nutrients, 14, 3899. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14193899

In this study, a natural experimental, longitudinal study of child care centers participating in CACFP was compared to nonparticipating centers to assess whether the quality of food and beverages served (per menu analysis) improved following the CACFP meal pattern changes in 2017. Results showed CACFP centers were more likely to meet several key nutrition standards in comparison to non-CACFP centers overall, but there were no differences in menu quality from before to after the 2017 standards change between CACFP and non-CACFP centers.

Full citation: Andreyeva T., Mozaffarian, R. S., & Kenny, E. L. (2022). Updated Meal Patterns in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Changes in Quality of Food and Beverages Served: A Natural Experimental Study. Nutrients, 14(18), 3786. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183786