Estimating Young Children's Exposure to Food and Beverage Marketing on Mobile Devices.

Background: Food and beverage marketing drives poor diet quality and obesity risk among children. However, it is unknown how much young children are exposed to digital food and beverage marketing on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate how frequently young children, who are particularly vulnerable to advertising, view food and beverage marketing while using mobile devices.

Experiences of Parents Earning Low Wages in Raleigh, North Carolina: Compounding Effects of Caretaker Responsibility, Piecemeal Resources, and Lack of Economic Opportunities.

We conducted interviews with parents earning low wages to understand their experiences related to financial responsibilities and use of government and informal resources in Raleigh, North Carolina. Inadequate economic opportunities and assistance programs, and high costs of living, compounded into cycles of playing catch up on expenses. Assistance programs aimed at alleviating hardships related to poverty were described as piecemeal.

Food Pantry Clients' Needs, Preferences, and Recommendations for Food Pantries: A Qualitative Study.

A qualitative formative approach was used to explore food pantry clients' needs, preferences, and recommendations regarding food received from food pantries. Fifty adult clients of six Arkansas food pantries were interviewed in English, Spanish, or Marshallese. Data analysis used the constant comparative qualitative methodology.

The lived experience of food pantry users in Minnesota: Qualitative findings from a statewide survey.

Objectives: In 2017 a community-University of Minnesota collaborative conducted a statewide survey of food pantry clients.

Methods: Of the 188 food pantries surveyed, 4321 individual client surveys were returned, from which 2,251 open-ended responses were analyzed.

Results: Respondents shared gratitude for the food pantry in meeting their needs for food and support.

Implementation of Universal School Meals during COVID-19 and beyond: Challenges and Benefits for School Meals Programs in Maine.

School meals play a major role in supporting children's diets and food security, and policies for universal school meals (USM) have the potential to contribute to positive child health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools provided free school meals to all students in the United States, but this national USM policy ended in school year (SY) 2022-2023; however, a few states have adopted policies to continue USM statewide for SY 2022-2023. Research examining the challenges and strategies for successful continuation of USM is essential, along with studying pandemic-related challenges that are likely to persist in schools.

A qualitative analysis of SNAP and minimum wage policies as experienced by workers with lower incomes.

Work-related policies, including minimum wage and food assistance work requirements, can affect food security for people with lower incomes. This study conducted 112 qualitative interviews to understand participant policy experiences in two contexts (Raleigh, North Carolina and Minneapolis, Minnesota). Participants experienced frequent, destabilizing changes to their United States Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which they identified as part of a broader safety net.

Food Pantry Usage Patterns are Associated with Client Sociodemographics and Health.

Characterizing food pantry (FP) clients' FP usage patterns may provide opportunities to tailor health-related interventions. Respondents (n=245) at seven FPs reported their frequency and reliance on FPs and their sociodemographics, health status, and health-related trade-offs. Clients were categorized via latent class analysis.

Caregivers' provision of sweetened fruit-flavoured drinks to young children: importance of perceived product attributes and differences by socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics.

Objective: Drinks containing added sugar and/or non-nutritive sweeteners are not recommended for children under 6 years. Yet, most young children consume these products. The current study examined factors associated with caregivers' provision of sweetened drinks to their young child.

A multi-component tailored intervention in family childcare homes improves diet quality and sedentary behavior of preschool children compared to an attention control: results from the Healthy Start-Comienzos Sanos cluster randomized trial.

Background: Childcare settings are important environments for influencing child eating and physical activity (PA). Family childcare homes (FCCH) care for many children of low-income and diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds who are at greater risk for poor diet quality, low PA, and obesity, but few interventions have targeted this setting. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a multicomponent intervention conducted in FCCH on the diet quality and PA of 2-5 year old children in their care.

The Accuracy of Portion Size Reporting on Self-Administered Online 24-Hour Dietary Recalls Among Women With Low Incomes.

Background: Accurately estimating portion sizes remains a challenge in dietary assessment. Digital images used in online 24-hour dietary recalls may be conducive to accuracy.

Objective: The current analyses were conducted to examine the accuracy of portion size estimation by women with low incomes who completed 24-hour dietary recalls using the online Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA24) in the Food and Eating Assessment Study II.

Assessing District Policy Alignment with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model in Connecticut, 2019 to 2020.

Background: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model offers a comprehensive framework for creating safe, healthy, and supportive school environments. However, few studies to date have examined the degree to which school policies represent a comprehensive and integrated approach to this goal beyond nutrition and physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide a baseline evaluation of the alignment of district-level policies with the WSCC model within one state.

Nutrition standards for the charitable food system: challenges and opportunities.

Food insecurity is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and poor dietary intake. The United States charitable food system, a complex network of food banks, pantries and congregate meal sites, provides food for millions of low-income households each year. Food banks and pantries play a critical role in supporting food security and are an important contributor to dietary intake for its clients.

The determinants of racial disparities in obesity: baseline evidence from a natural experiment.

This paper uses baseline data from an observational study to estimate the determinants of racial and gender disparities in obesity. Samples of low-income workers in Minneapolis and Raleigh reveal that respondents in Minneapolis have lower Body Mass Indices (BMIs) than respondents in Raleigh. There are large, statistically significant race and gender effects in estimates of BMI that explain most of the disparity between the two cities.

Caregivers' Understanding of Ingredients in Drinks Served to Young Children: Opportunities for Nutrition Education and Improved Labeling.

Background: Against expert recommendations, sugar-sweetened beverages, especially fruit drinks, are consumed by young children. Misperceptions about drink ingredients and healthfulness can contribute to caregivers' provision.

Objectives: To assess caregivers' reasons for serving sweetened fruit-flavored drinks and unsweetened juices to their young children (1-5 y) and perceptions of product healthfulness and drink ingredients.

Use of person-centred language among scientific research focused on childhood obesity.

Background: Stigma towards children with obesity can begin as early as 3 years old, leading to increased risk for poorer mental health outcomes and lower quality of life. This includes discriminatory language used by peers and adults, which may be compounded by use within the medical community and in published research.

Objectives: Our primary objective was to investigate adherence to person-centred language (PCL) in childhood obesity-related medical publications.

Recruitment of Low-wage Workers for a Time-Sensitive Natural Experiment to Evaluate a Minimum Wage Policy: Challenges and Lessons Learned.

Natural experiments are often used for answering research questions in which randomization is implausible. Effective recruitment strategies are well documented for observational cohort studies and clinical trials, unlike recruitment methods for time-sensitive natural experiments. In this time-sensitive study of the impact of a minimum wage policy, we aimed to recruit 900 low-wage workers in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Strategies to Improve School Meal Consumption: A Systematic Review.

School meals can play an integral role in improving children's diets and addressing health disparities. Initiatives and policies to increase consumption have the potential to ensure students benefit from the healthy school foods available. This systematic review evaluates studies examining initiatives, interventions, and policies to increase school meal consumption.

Ethnic Differences in Family Childcare Providers' Nutrition- and Activity-Related Attitudes and Barriers.

Objective: The aim of the study is to examine family childcare providers' (FCCPs) attitudes and perceived barriers related to nutrition, physical activity (PA), and screen time (ST) behaviors of preschool children, exploring differences by provider ethnicity.

Design: Baseline survey data from a cluster-randomized trial. .

Breastmilk or infant formula? Content analysis of infant feeding advice on breastmilk substitute manufacturer websites.

Objective: To evaluate messages about infant feeding on breastmilk substitute (BMS) manufacturer websites directed at US caregivers and compare information and portrayals of breast-feeding/breastmilk with that of infant formula (IF) feeding.

Design: We conducted a content analysis of US BMS companies' websites. A codebook was created through an iterative process to identify messages and images about breast-feeding/breastmilk and IF feeding, including benefits or issues associated with each, and direct-to-consumer marketing practices that could discourage breast-feeding.

Caring for US Children: Barriers to Effective Treatment in Children with the Disease of Obesity.

In 2020, impediments to pediatric obesity (PO) treatment remain pervasive, even though these barriers are clearly documented in medical literature. Providers must invest considerable resources to overcome these barriers to care. Notable barriers include gaps in medical education, misperceptions of the disease, weight bias and stigma, exclusion of coverage in health plans, and thus an unsustainable financial framework.