UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Connecticut has a strong human rights law but has remained silent while other New England states and cities have introduced and/or passed legislation to prohibit weight discrimination. In Connecticut, 35% of adults are overweight and 30% of adults have obesity, highlighting the high number of people in Connecticut who are vulnerable to mistreatment because of their body size. To protect Connecticut citizens from weight discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public accommodations, Connecticut should pass legislation adding body size to its list of protected categories. This law would make body size discrimination unlawful in Connecticut, leading to lower rates of bias and unfair treatment, improving access to services, and increasing safety and quality of life for Connecticut citizens.

Food insecurity puts people at risk for many poor physical and mental health outcomes. Rates of food insecurity stayed stable during much of the COVID-19 pandemic but rose significantly from 2021-2022 among U.S. households with children. Many federal supports were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic – including expansions in food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as other supports like the expanded Child Tax Credit. However, these supports were temporary, and SNAP benefits were reduced for many households after February 2023, when pandemic-era Emergency Allotments ended. As federal relief measures end, states are taking action to support those at risk of food insecurity. For example, many states, including the majority of states in the region, have passed their own expanded Child Tax Credits.

Informed by the model of stigma communication, this study conducted a content analysis of images accompanying obesity-related news articles from the U.S. and U.K. to determine and compare the prevalence of stigmatizing images. Images (N = 445) in obesity-focused news articles obtained from the top four most viewed online news in the U.S. (n = 244) and U.K. (n = 201) during August 2018–August 2019 were systematically coded. These 445 images featured 228 individuals. Of these 228 individuals, 35% were identified as higher weight and 44% as lower weight. Overall, 70% of persons of higher weight in these news images were depicted in a stigmatizing manner. Further, 46% of individuals with higher weight were depicted with their head partially or fully removed from the image, compared to 25% of individuals with lower weight. Additionally, U.K. news were 2.5 times more likely to contain stigmatizing images than U.S. news.

Full citation: Rao, A., Puhl, R.M., Farrar, K. (2023). Weight Stigma in Online News images: A Visual Content Analysis of Stigma Communication in the Depictions of Individuals with Obesity in U.S. and U.K. News. Journal of Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2286512

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity for young children while helping cover food costs for care providers and families. Despite its important benefits, the program is underutilized. This report uses qualitative interviews with state CACFP administrators representing 28 states to explore federal and state policies and practices that support or discourage CACFP participation among licensed child care centers. We report on successful approaches to program outreach and administration, barriers that make CACFP participation challenging, and recommendations to expand access to CACFP for eligible child care providers and the populations they serve.

Full Citation: Andreyeva, T., McCann, M., Prager, J., & Kenney, E. L. (2023). State Agency Perspectives on Successes and Challenges of Administering the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2023.10.015

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity among young children by helping cover the food costs for child care providers and families. This nationwide study evaluated the extent and predictors of the CACFP’s utilization among licensed child care centers to identify opportunities for expanding CACFP nutrition support.

Currently CACFP participation rates among licensed child care centers point to program underutilization and unequal access, particularly in some states and regions. Work at the federal and state levels is warranted to expand participation in the program, above all in low-income areas, so that more young children could eat healthfully with the CACFP.

Full Citation: Andreyeva, T., Moore, T. E., Godoy, L. da, & Kenney, E. L. (2023). Federal Nutrition Assistance for young children: Underutilized and unequally accessed. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2023.09.008

The objective of this study is to test effects of a standardized front-of-package (FOP) disclosure statement (indicating added sugar, non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) and juice content) on accuracy in assessing ingredients and perceived healthfulness of children’s drinks.

In two randomized controlled experiments, the same participants viewed drink packages and indicated if products contained added sugar or NNS and percent juice and rated drink healthfulness. Experiment 1 (E1) included novel (non-US) children’s drinks with a) product claims only (control), b) claims and disclosure, or c) disclosure only. Experiment 2 (E2) included existing children’s drinks (with claims) with a) no disclosure (control) or b) disclosure. Both experiments evaluated sweetened (fruit drink and flavoured water) and unsweetened (100 % juice and juice/water blend) drinks.

Full Citation: Fleming-Milici, F., Gershman, H., Pomeranz, J., & Harris, J. (2023). Effects of a front-of-package disclosure on accuracy in assessing children’s drink ingredients: Two randomised controlled experiments with US caregivers of young children. Public Health Nutrition, 1-12. doi:10.1017/S1368980023001969

This study evaluates whether a cluster-randomized, behavioral intervention in food pantries resulted in improved client outcomes. Sixteen Minnesota food pantries were randomized to an intervention (n = 8) or control condition (n = 8). The intervention offered pantries technical assistance to improve healthy food supply and implement behavioral economics strategies to promote healthy food selection. A convenience sample of adult clients were enrolled (paired sample, 158 intervention, 159 control) and followed for 1 year. In adjusted models, there were no statistically significant differences by intervention condition in HEI-2015 or LS7 scores. The intervention did not result in improved diet quality or cardiovascular health as measured by HEI-2015 or LS7. Coordinated efforts across settings are needed to address health risks facing this population.

Full citation: Caspi, C. E., Gombi-Vaca, M. F., Bliss Barsness, C., Gordon, N., Canterbury, M., Peterson, H. H., … & Pratt, R. (2023). A Cluster-Randomized Evaluation of the SuperShelf Intervention in Choice-Based Food Pantries. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, kaad060. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaad060

Weight stigma, defined as pervasive misconceptions and stereotypes associated with higher body weight, is both a social determinant of health and a human rights issue. It is imperative to consider how weight stigma may be impeding health promotion efforts on a global scale.

The World Obesity Federation (WOF) convened a global working group of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, youth advocates, and individuals with lived experience of obesity to consider the ways that global obesity narratives may contribute to weight stigma. Specifically, the working group focused on how overall obesity narratives, food and physical activity narratives, and scientific and public-facing language may contribute to weight stigma. The impact of weight stigma across the lifespan was also considered. Taking a global perspective, nine recommendations resulted from this work for global health research and health promotion efforts that can help to reduce harmful obesity narratives, both inside and outside health contexts.

Full citation: Nutter, S., Eggerichs, L. A., Nagpal, T. S., Ramos Salas, X., Chin Chea, C., Saiful, S., … & Yusop, S. (2023). Changing the global obesity narrative to recognize and reduce weight stigma: A position statement from the World Obesity Federation. Obesity Reviews, e13642.

When school is out of session, students lose access to school meals and are more likely to experience food insufficiency. The USDA summer meal programs seek to fill this gap by providing free meals and snacks to children in eligible community settings. However, compared to participation in school meals, participation in summer meals is extremely low – in summer 2019, just 13.8% of children participating in school meals received a summer meal. 

This policy brief examines the impact of pandemic-era waivers for summer meal programs in 2020 and beyond. Further, it provides policy recommendations to improve access to nutritious meals for children when school is out of session.

The US Department of Agriculture’s school meal programs have wide reach during the school year, but food insufficiency among households with children increases during summer months. The US Department of Agriculture summer meal programs are designed to fill this gap, yet participation has historically been low.

Using a mixed-methods approach that examined both participants and non-participants, this study explores the facilitators and barriers to participation in a 2021 summer meal program while the COVID-19 pandemic regulation waivers were in place.

Full citation: Bennett, B. L., McKee, S. L., Burkholder, K., Chafouleas, S. M., & Schwartz, M. B. (2023). USDA’s Summer Meals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods examination of participants and non-participants in 2021. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2023.07.015