This report quantifies changes in cereal-company marketing to children. We examined the nutritional quality of 261 cereals from 12 companies in May 2012, including children’s cereals (products marketed directly to children), family cereals (marketed to parents to serve their children), and adult cereals (marketed to adults for their own consumption). We also used syndicated market research data and independent analyses to quantify young people’s exposure to marketing on TV and the internet.

Full citation: Puhl R, Peterson JL, Luedicke J. Motivating or stigmatizing? Public perceptions of weight-related language used by health providers [published correction appears in Int J Obes (Lond).2013 Apr;37(4):623]. Int J Obes (Lond). 2013;37(4):612-619. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.110

Cereal companies have improved the nutritional quality of most cereals marketed directly to children, but they also have increased advertising to children for many of their least nutritious products, according to a report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

In 2009, the Rudd Center issued Cereal FACTS. The report documented the nutritional quality and marketing of cereals to youth and found that cereal companies aggressively marketed their worst products to children as young as two years old. Three years later, using the same methods as the original Cereal FACTS, this report quantifies changes in cereal-company marketing to children.

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Luedicke J, Middleton AE, Long MW, Schwartz MB. Positive influence of the revised Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children food packages on access to healthy foods. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012;112(6):850-858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.02.019

Full citation: Schwartz MB, Henderson KE, Falbe J, et al. Strength and comprehensiveness of district school wellness policies predict policy implementation at the school level. J Sch Health. 2012;82(6):262-267. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2012.00696.x

Access to healthy food in underserved communities has improved significantly after changes in federal nutrition and food assistance programs, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Published in the June, 2012, issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the study shows that the revisions in food packages for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have increased the availability and variety of healthy foods in WIC-authorized and non-WIC convenience and grocery stores.

Strong written school wellness policies lead to better food and more physical activity in schools, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Published in the Journal of School Health, the study found that districts with strong and clearly written school wellness policies are more likely to actually implement better nutrition education, higher nutrition standards for school meals and other food at school, and more opportunities for physical activity.

Researchers from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity will be featured in a multi-part series on HBO that addresses the national obesity epidemic. Rudd Center director Kelly Brownell, deputy director Marlene Schwartz, director of research Rebecca Puhl, and director of marketing initiatives Jennifer Harris will join other notable names in obesity research and prevention to discuss one of the nation’s most pressing health issues and offer practical but far-reaching solutions.

Full citation: Roberto CA, Shivaram M, Martinez O, Boles C, Harris JL, Brownell KD. The Smart Choices front-of-package nutrition label. Influence on perceptions and intake of cereal. Appetite. 2012;58(2):651-657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.01.003