Full citation: Schwartz MB. Moving Beyond the Debate Over Restricting Sugary Drinks in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Am J Prev Med. 2017;52(2 Suppl 2):S199-S205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.09.022

Full citation: Pearl RL, Puhl RM, Dovidio JF. Can Legislation Prohibiting Weight Discrimination Improve Psychological Well-Being? A Preliminary Investigation. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. 2017;17(1):84-104. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12128

Birth to age 2 is a critical period for establishing lifelong and healthy dietary preferences and eating habits and preventing childhood obesity. The information that parents receive about feeding their young children, including from marketing, should consistently correspond with advice from health professionals about practices that help children grow up at a healthy weight. However, baby and toddler food and drink products and the marketing messages used to promote them do not always support experts’ recommendations for feeding babies and toddlers.

In this report, we examine the nutritional quality and other characteristics of food and drink products marketed to parents for their babies and toddlers (up to age 3), as well as the messages used to promote these products, and evaluate how well they correspond to expert advice about feeding young children.

Although time spent watching TV did not increase, children and adolescents viewed more television food and beverage advertisements in 2012 than in 2008. This increase was due primarily to an increase in the number of ads aired per hour of TV viewing, according to a new study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut.

Selling look-alike Smart Snacks in schools confuses students and parents. This handout explains findings of Rudd Center research, which shows how students are being tricked and how companies are still promoting their junk food brands in schools.

Full citation: Fleming-Milici F, Harris JL. Television food advertising viewed by preschoolers, children and adolescents: contributors to differences in exposure for black and white youth in the United States. Pediatr Obes. 2018;13(2):103-110. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12203

Using data from Baby Food FACTS, this infographic depicts total advertising spending in 2015 and the proportion of total advertising dollars spent on certain types of products.

Using data from the Rudd Center’s Baby Food FACTS report, this infographic shows common marketing messages on baby & toddler snacks and reveals the real ingredients in these products.

Baby Food FACTS from the UConn Rudd Center examines the products and marketing of food and drinks for children younger than age 3. This infographic depicts ad spending for toddler drinks on Spanish language television in 2015, as well as the amount of added sweeteners in popular products.

Birth to two years is a critical period for developing healthy eating habits and preventing childhood obesity. Baby Food FACTS provides a comprehensive analysis of the nutritional content of food and drink products marketed to parents for their babies and toddlers (up to age 3), the messages used to promote these products, and how well the marketing messages correspond with expert advice about feeding young children.