Food Insecurity Transitions and Changes in Employment and Earnings.

Introduction: Many low-income U.S. households experience food security changes over time, but little is known about how labor market transitions contribute to these changes.

Assessment of Calories Purchased After Calorie Labeling of Prepared Foods in a Large Supermarket Chain.

Importance: Calorie labels for prepared (ie, ready-to-eat) foods are required in large chain food establishments in the US. Large evaluations in restaurants suggest small declines in purchases of prepared foods after labeling, but to the authors' knowledge, no studies have examined how this policy influences supermarket purchases.

Objective: To estimate changes in calories purchased from prepared foods and potential packaged substitutes compared with control foods after calorie labeling of prepared foods in supermarkets.

Implementation of a 2-for-1 Price Incentive for Fruits and Vegetables in a Grocery Retail Setting.

Background And Purpose: There is growing interest in expanding healthy eating interventions in the retail setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of a successful 2-for-1 price incentive for fruits and vegetables (F&V), including frozen and canned, that took place in partnership with a large chain grocery retailer in Maine. Intervention Approach.

Comparing Online and In-Store Grocery Purchases.

Objective: To describe the grocery shopping patterns of people who shopped both online and in-store and evaluate whether shoppers purchased fewer unhealthy, impulse-sensitive items online.

Design: Secondary analysis of 44 weeks of grocery transaction data collected for fruit and vegetable incentive trials in 2 Maine supermarkets.

Participants: A total of 137 primary household shoppers who shopped at least once in-store and online (curbside pickup) for 5,573 total transactions MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: Paired t tests and descriptive analyses compared online and in-store transactions with respect to frequency, total spending, number of items purchased, and spending on 10 food groups and 34 subgroups.

Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods.

Introduction: The 2010 Affordable Care Act required chain retail food establishments, including supermarkets, to post calorie information for prepared (i.e., ready to eat) foods.

Comparing shopper characteristics by online grocery ordering use among households in low-income communities in Maine.

Objective: Online grocery shopping could improve access to healthy food, but it may not be equally accessible to all populations - especially those at higher risk for food insecurity. The current study aimed to compare the socio-demographic characteristics of families who ordered groceries online v. those who only shopped in-store.

Infant sugar sweetened beverage and 100% juice consumption: Racial/ethnic differences and links with fathers' consumption in a longitudinal cohort.

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and 100% juice before age 12 months is discouraged. We examine racial/ethnic differences in SSB and 100% juice consumption when infants were 6- and 12-months old and examine links between fathers' and infants' beverage consumption. Participants were from a longitudinal cohort of infants and their parents (recruited 2016-2018), followed from birth until the child was 24 months.

Influence of Food and Beverage Companies on Retailer Marketing Strategies and Consumer Behavior.

The retail food environment plays an important role in shaping dietary habits that contribute to obesity and other chronic diseases. Food and beverage manufacturers use trade promotion-incentives paid to retailers-to influence how products are placed, priced, and promoted in stores. This review aims to: (1) catalogue trade promotion practices that manufacturers use to influence retailer marketing strategies, and (2) describe how these retailer marketing strategies affect consumer purchasing behavior and attitudes.

Facilitators and barriers to bikeshare use among users and non-users in a socioeconomically diverse urban population.

Public bike sharing programs are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. While there is a growing body of literature exploring participation and facilitators among bike share users, little is known about the views of people who have not enrolled in bikeshare programs and how they differ from current users. This knowledge is critical to expand bikeshare ridership, particularly among low-income populations who typically have lower participation levels.

Supermarket Purchases Over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefit Month: A Comparison Between Participants and Nonparticipants.

Introduction: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides financial assistance for food and beverage purchases to approximately 1 in 7 Americans, with benefits distributed once monthly. Most Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are spent early in the month, leading to decreased caloric intake later in the month. The effects of this early benefit depletion on the types of foods and beverages purchased over the course of the month is unclear.

Financial Incentives Increase Purchases Of Fruit And Vegetables Among Lower-Income Households With Children.

The high cost of fruit and vegetables can be a barrier to healthy eating, particularly among lower-income households with children. We examined the effects of a financial incentive on purchases at a single supermarket by primary shoppers from low-income households who had at least one child. Participation in an in-store Cooking Matters event was requested for incentivized subjects but optional for their nonincentivized controls.

Make It Fresh, for Less! A Supermarket Meal Bundling and Electronic Reminder Intervention to Promote Healthy Purchases Among Families With Children.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a supermarket meal bundling and electronic reminder intervention on food choices of families with children.

Design: Quasi-experimental (meal bundling) and randomized, controlled trial (electronic reminders).

Setting: Large supermarket in Maine during 40-week baseline and 16-week intervention periods in 2015-2016.

Traffic-light labels and financial incentives to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage purchases by low-income Latino families: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to test the effectiveness of financial incentives and traffic-light labels to reduce purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages in a community supermarket.

Design: In this randomized controlled trial, after a 2-month baseline period (February-March 2014), in-store traffic-light labels were posted to indicate healthy (green), less healthy (yellow) or unhealthy (red) beverages. During the subsequent five months (April-August 2014), participants in the intervention arm were eligible to earn a $US 25 in-store gift card each month they refrained from purchasing red-labelled beverages.

A Supermarket Double-Dollar Incentive Program Increases Purchases of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Among Low-Income Families With Children: The Healthy Double Study.

Objective: To carry out a pilot study to determine whether a supermarket double-dollar fruit and vegetable (F&V) incentive increases F&V purchases among low-income families.

Design: Randomized controlled design. Purchases were tracked using a loyalty card that provided participants with a 5% discount on all purchases during a 3-month baseline period followed by the 4-month intervention.

Transactions at a Northeastern Supermarket Chain: Differences by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use.

Introduction: Although one in seven Americans receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, little is known about how these benefits for food are spent because individual-level sales data are not publicly available. The purpose of this study is to compare transactions made with and without SNAP benefits at a large regional supermarket chain.

Methods: Sales data were obtained from a large supermarket chain in the Northeastern U.

Student obesity prevalence and behavioral outcomes for the massachusetts childhood obesity research demonstration project.

Objective: To examine changes in prevalence of obesity and target health behaviors (fruit, vegetable, and beverage consumption; physical activity; screen time; sleep duration) among students from communities that participated in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) project compared to controls.

Methods: MA-CORD was implemented in two low-income communities. School-level prevalence of obesity among students in first, fourth, and seventh grades was calculated for the intervention communities and nine matched control communities pre and post intervention.

Using School Staff Members to Implement a Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention in Low-Income School Districts: the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD Project), 2012-2014.

Introduction: Although evidence-based interventions to prevent childhood obesity in school settings exist, few studies have identified factors that enhance school districts' capacity to undertake such efforts. We describe the implementation of a school-based intervention using classroom lessons based on existing "Eat Well and Keep Moving" and "Planet Health" behavior change interventions and schoolwide activities to target 5,144 children in 4th through 7th grade in 2 low-income school districts.

Methods: The intervention was part of the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) project, a multisector community-based intervention implemented from 2012 through 2014.

Calorie Underestimation When Buying High-Calorie Beverages in Fast-Food Contexts.

We asked 1877 adults and 1178 adolescents visiting 89 fast-food restaurants in New England in 2010 and 2011 to estimate calories purchased. Calorie underestimation was greater among those purchasing a high-calorie beverage than among those who did not (adults: 324 ±698 vs 102 ±591 calories; adolescents: 360 ±602 vs 198 ±509 calories). This difference remained significant for adults but not adolescents after adjusting for total calories purchased.

Insufficient sleep among elementary and middle school students is linked with elevated soda consumption and other unhealthy dietary behaviors.

Objective: This study examines the extent to which insufficient sleep is associated with diet quality in students taking part in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Project.

Methods: Data were collected in Fall 2012 for all 4th and 7th grade children enrolled in public schools in two Massachusetts communities. During annual body mass index (BMI) screening, students completed a survey that assessed diet, physical activity, screen time, and sleep.

Evaluation overview for the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) project.

Background: The Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) project is a 2-year, multilevel, multisector community intervention to prevent and control obesity among children 2-12 years of age from two predominantly low-income communities in Massachusetts. MA-CORD includes evidence-based interventions in multiple sectors, including community health centers, early care and education centers, schools, afterschool programs, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, and the broader community. Currently, implementation of MA-CORD is complete and the final year of data collection is in progress.

Sleep duration, restfulness, and screens in the sleep environment.

Background And Objective: Associations of inadequate sleep with numerous health outcomes among youth necessitate identifying its modifiable determinants. Television (TV) has been associated with sleep curtailment, but little is known about small screens (eg, smartphones), which can be used in bed and emit notifications. Therefore, we examined associations of different screens in sleep environments with sleep duration and perceived insufficient rest or sleep.

Accelerated weight gain among children during summer versus school year and related racial/ethnic disparities: a systematic review.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to compile and summarize research examining variations in weight gain among students during the summer in comparison to the school year, with a focus on racial/ethnic disparities and students who are at risk of overweight.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed and Embase was conducted. Reference lists of identified articles and Google Scholar were also reviewed.