Objective: Prior work has documented inequities in disordered eating behavior (DEB) prevalence across gender identity, race, and ethnicity, yet has often ignored the fact that individuals belong to multiple social groups simultaneously. The present study assessed DEB inequities at the intersection of gender identity and race/ethnicity.

Method: The sample included n = 10,287 adolescents (68% gender-diverse, 33% belonging to marginalized racial/ethnic groups). Past-year prevalence of dietary restriction, self-induced vomiting, diet pill use, and binge eating was assessed. Data were analyzed with multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA). MAIHDA nests individuals within social strata defined by all combinations of gender identity and race/ethnicity (a proxy for exposure to structural (cis)sexism and racism). MAIHDA allows for comparison of outcome prevalence across strata and identifies strata with disproportionately high or low prevalence.

Results: Hispanic gender-nonconforming youth had a high prevalence of multiple DEBs: restricting prevalence was 67.1% (95% CI [62.1%–72.2%]), vomiting prevalence was 25.9% (95% CI [21.6%–31.0%]), and binge eating prevalence was 46.0% (95% CI [40.2%–51.4%]). For all outcomes, at least one stratum had disproportionately low prevalence; for all outcomes except vomiting, at least one stratum had disproportionately high prevalence, indicative of intersectional interactions between gender identity and race/ethnicity.

Discussion: DEB prevalence among adolescents varies substantially at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity, with the highest prevalence among those belonging to multiple marginalized groups. Future research is needed on the multilevel drivers of DEBs.

Summary:

• Research often compares outcome prevalence within one identity dimension, yet people belong to multiple intersecting social groups.
• We assessed how disordered eating prevalence varies at the intersection of gender identity and race/ethnicity. This revealed a complex and nuanced intersectional patterning.
• We suggest that disordered eating risk factors across levels of influence be studied so that structurally sensitive interventions can be developed.

Full Citation: Forrest, L. N., Bennett, B. L., Beccia, A., Puhl, R., & Watson, R. J. (2025). Prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among sexual and gender minority youth varies at the intersection of gender identity and Race/Ethnicity. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 58(3), 635–646. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24352

Weight-related conversations are common between adolescents and parents. However, there is limited understanding of how these conversations vary across sociodemographic groups, such as sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, or parents’ level of education. This study assessed the prevalence of weight-related communication among adolescents and parents across sociodemographic characteristics, and identified adolescents’ preferred sources for these discussions.

While few differences emerged based on race/ethnicity or grade level, significant variation was observed for sex, sexual orientation, and parental education. Girls, sexual minority youth, high school students, and those with college-educated parents were more likely to communicate about their own weight, whereas boys were more likely to comment on others’ weight. Most adolescents preferred healthcare professionals (71%) and parents (69%) for these conversations, although sexual minority youth preferred mental health professionals considerably more than parents. Among parents, 77% discussed their child’s weight, with fathers and Latinx parents engaging more frequently in these conversations, and Black parents engaging least frequently.

Full Citation: Lessard, L. M., Wu, R., Puhl, R. M., Foster, G. D., & Cardel, M. I. (2024). Adolescent experiences of weight‐related communication: Sociodemographic differences and the role of parents. Pediatric Obesity, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.13196

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that “caffeine and other stimulant substances contained in energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents.” Aggressive marketing drives consumption and sales among young people, and a growing body of literature supports the need for energy drink regulations to protect children and teens.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides meals to over 28 million students daily and is a powerful strategy to reduce childhood food insecurity and improve diet quality. The standard “means-tested” approach to pricing provides meals to low-income students at a reduced price or no cost. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal regulations were temporarily changed to allow districts to provide free school meals to all students (i.e., Universal Free School Meals, UFSM), regardless of income.

We collectively pay for public education because we believe that it is our responsibility to our youth – but it’s hard to focus in class when you are hungry. In addition to the health benefits of reducing food insecurity and improving diet quality, UFSM protects our investment in the public education of Connecticut’s children.

As youth mobile device use, including smartphones and tablets, has grown rapidly, even among very young children – time spent on mobile devices among 0-8 year olds increased by over 1000% from 2011-2020 – so has concern about potential negative health consequences. In addition to widespread concerns about impacts on young people’s mental health, social and emotional skill development, and sleep, mobile device use also allows for exposure to marketing of health-harming products, including foods and beverages that increase the risk of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

This study estimates how frequently young children, who are particularly vulnerable to advertising, view food and beverage marketing while using mobile devices.

Full Citation: Kenney, E. L., Mozaffarian, R. S., Norris, J., Fleming-Milici, F., & Bleich, S. N. (2024). Estimating young children’s exposure to food and beverage marketing on mobile devices. Current Developments in Nutrition, 104505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104505

A local school wellness policy is a written document that guides local educational agency (LEA) efforts to establish a school environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and ability to learn. These policies are required for all LEAs that sponsor the USDA National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. Wellness policies are board-approved documents and are shared with the public.

This guide outlines the steps to create a local school wellness policy, federal requirements, and additional resources for LEAs.

This is a model local school wellness policy (LSWP) developed by the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health based on the language used in LSWPs adopted by school districts in Connecticut and elsewhere in the United States.

This model policy includes strong language for each of the 67 policy topics assessed by the Wellness School Assessment Tool, or WellSAT. WellSAT items are indicated throughout the model policy in red text in square brackets (“[IEC1]”). This allows you to refer back to the tool to determine the important elements of policy language for each item.

Please feel free to adapt this policy to meet the needs of your district.

For youth, weight stigma is most commonly experienced as teasing, bullying, or harassment, which can be referred to as ‘weight-based victimization’. This can include verbal teasing, cyber bullying, physical aggression, or relational victimization (such as being ignored, excluded, or the target of rumors). Across youth of diverse backgrounds, as many as half of girls and one third of boys report being teased or bullied about their body weight. Youth are more likely to be bullied for their weight or physical appearance than because of their race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability status. While peers are common perpetrators of weight-based teasing in youth and adolescents,4 parents and family members are also common sources of weight stigma. When youth experience weight teasing from family members, they are more likely to internalize these experiences and engage in self-blame.

It is unknown if parent-targeted health messages about childhood obesity affect parental weight communication with children (e.g., encouraging a child to diet). This randomized, controlled, online experiment assessed the effects of exposure to different message frames on parental intentions to 1) engage in weight communication with their child and, 2) follow the health advice in the message.

Full Citation: Pudney, E. V., Puhl, R. M., Schwartz, M. B., & Halgunseth, L. C. (2024). The effect of parent-targeted obesity messaging on parental weight talk intention: A randomized controlled experiment. Health Communication, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2386212

What is the association between universal free school meals (UFSMs) and school and student outcomes in US schools?

In this systematic review of 6 studies comprising more than 11 000 schools, implementation of UFSM was associated with increased lunch (3 studies) and breakfast (1 study) participation, no change or modestly improved attendance (2 studies), and decreased obesity prevalence (1 study) and suspensions (1 study). The association with lunch participation had a moderate certainty of evidence, while the other associations had low or very low certainty of evidence.

Full Citation: Spill, M. K., Trivedi, R., Thoerig, R. C., Balalian, A. A., Schwartz, M. B., Gunderson, C., Odoms-Young, A., Racine, E. F., Foster, M. J., Davis, J. S., & MacFarlane, A. J. (2024). Universal Free School Meals and School and Student Outcomes: A Systematic Review. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24082