UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

In 2010, researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity issued Fast Food FACTS. The report examined the nutritional quality of fast food menus, advertising on TV and the internet, and marketing practices inside restaurants. Three years after our first report – using the same methods as the original Fast Food FACTS – this report quantifies changes in the nutritional quality of fast food and how it is marketed to children and teens

In 2010, researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity issued Fast Food FACTS. The report examined the nutritional quality of fast food menus, advertising on TV and the internet, and marketing practices inside restaurants.

Efforts to reduce consumption of saturated fat among women and young children receiving food assistance appear to be paying off, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

In 2012 the fast food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise mostly unhealthy products, and children and teens remained key audiences for that advertising, according to a new report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The report highlights a few positive developments, such as healthier sides and beverages in most restaurants’ kids’ meals, but also shows that restaurants still have a long way to go to promote only healthier fast-food options to kids.

Professional athletes are often paid large amounts of money to endorse commercial products. But the majority of the food and beverage brands endorsed by professional athletes are for unhealthy products like sports beverages, soft drinks, and fast food, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. The study appears in the November issue of Pediatrics.

Full citation: Bragg MA, Yanamadala S, Roberto CA, Harris JL, Brownell KD. Athlete endorsements in food marketing. Pediatrics. 2013;132(5):805-810. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-0093

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Luedicke J. Federal food package revisions: effects on purchases of whole-grain products. Am J Prev Med. 2013;45(4):422-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.05.009

Full citation: Powell LM, Harris JL, Fox T. Food marketing expenditures aimed at youth: putting the numbers in context. Am J Prev Med. 2013;45(4):453-461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.06.003

Efforts to encourage healthy consumption of whole grains by people receiving federal food assistance are paying off, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

Some mental health practitioners who treat patients with eating disorders may have their own weight biases that could negatively affect their patients, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. Although previous research has documented weight bias among other healthcare providers, this is the first to examine it specifically among mental health specialists. The study is published online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.