UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Efforts to encourage healthy beverage choices by people receiving federal food assistance are paying off, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The study shows that purchases of 100% juice declined among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) after the program changed in 2007 to offer foods that better reflect dietary recommendations for Americans.

Full citation: Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Stice E, Harris JL, Brownell KD. Relation of obesity to neural activation in response to food commercials. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014;9(7):932-938. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst059

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Luedicke J, Tripp AS, Henderson KE. Effects of reduced juice allowances in food packages for the women, infants, and children program. Pediatrics. 2013;131(5):919-927. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-3471

Overweight patients are not the only ones who suffer weight stigmatization in the doctor’s office, a Yale study finds. Physicians who are overweight or obese are vulnerable to biased attitudes from patients which could interfere with quality of care, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The findings, published in the International Journal of Obesity, show that a provider’s excess weight negatively affects patients’ perceptions of his or her credibility, level of trust, and inclination to follow medical advice.

Loopholes in industry self-regulation allow food companies to continue to reach large numbers of children with advertising for unhealthy products — such as fast food, candy, and cookies — during “tween” programs and popular children’s holiday specials. The study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Support is needed in child care centers to help meet existing water policies and new water requirements included in the 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, according to a study published by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The study, published in the March/April 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, is the first to document availability and accessibility of water in compliance with state and federal policy, and accreditation standards in child care centers.

Full citation: Pomeranz JL, Puhl RM. New developments in the law for obesity discrimination protection. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013;21(3):469-471. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20094

Full citation: Puhl RM, Gold JA, Luedicke J, DePierre JA. The effect of physicians’ body weight on patient attitudes: implications for physician selection, trust and adherence to medical advice. Int J Obes (Lond). 2013;37(11):1415-1421. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2013.33

Full citation: Pomeranz JL, Munsell CR, Harris JL. Energy drinks: an emerging public health hazard for youth. J Public Health Policy. 2013;34(2):254-271. https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2013.6

Full citation: Harris JL, Sarda V, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD. Redefining “child-directed advertising” to reduce unhealthy television food advertising. Am J Prev Med. 2013;44(4):358-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.11.039