Impact of school district sugar-sweetened beverage policies on student beverage exposure and consumption in middle schools.

Purpose: To determine the associations between 1) exposure to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in middle schools and student consumption of SSB during the school day; and 2) school district policies about SSB and exposure to SSB in schools.

Methods: The strength of school district SSB policies was scored on three SSB policy indicators. Student SSB consumption at school was assessed by a self-administered Beverage and Snack Questionnaire.

Promoting family meals in WIC: lessons learned from a statewide initiative.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in Washington State developed a module to be used at local WIC agencies to promote family meals. Needs assessment and formative evaluation ensured that the module met the needs of WIC staff and clients. The Promoting Family Meals module includes background information on family meals, tools for training WIC staff, outlines for group sessions, handouts tailored to each client's stage of change, children's coloring sheets, bookmarks, banners, and posters.

Statewide intervention to reduce television viewing in WIC clients and staff.

Purpose: To evaluate a statewide campaign that was designed to reduce television viewing by clients and staff of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Television reduction is frequently recommended as a strategy for preventing pediatric overweight.

Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 10,445 clients and staff who attended clinics during a 3-week period before the intervention and 9188 clients and staff who attended clinics after the intervention.