Multilevel approaches to increase fruit and vegetable intake in low-income housing communities: final results of the 'Live Well, Viva Bien' cluster-randomized trial.

Background: Fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake can reduce risks for chronic disease, but is much lower than recommended amounts in most Western populations, especially for those with low income levels. Rigorous research is needed on practical, cost-effective interventions that address environmental as well as personal determinants of F&V intake. This paper presents the results of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of 'Live Well, Viva Bien' (LWVB), a multicomponent intervention that included discount, mobile fresh F&V markets in conjunction with nutrition education.

A Word to the Wise: Adolescent Reactions to Parental Communication about Weight.

Background: With high rates of adolescent obesity, many parents are talking to adolescents about their body weight. Parental "weight talk" is linked with adverse health behaviors in youth, but we know little about what parents say in these conversations. Using a weight loss treatment-seeking sample of adolescents, the present study assessed adolescents' emotional reactions to words their parents use to describe their weight and preferred language for these interactions.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Demand and Tax Simulation for Federal Food Assistance Participants: A Case of Two New England States.

Background: Excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is a major concern in the efforts to improve diet and reduce obesity in USA, particularly among low-income populations. One of the most commonly proposed strategies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is increasing beverage prices through taxation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether and how price-based policies could reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Weight bias internalization and health: a systematic review.

A robust literature has documented the negative health effects of being the target of weight bias. Weight bias internalization (WBI) occurs when individuals apply negative weight stereotypes to themselves and self-derogate because of their body weight. Compared with experiences of weight bias, less is known about the relationship between WBI and mental and physical health, although more literature on this topic has emerged in recent years.

Sports Sponsorships of Food and Nonalcoholic Beverages.

Background: Food and nonalcoholic beverage companies spend millions of dollars on professional sports sponsorships, yet this form of marketing is understudied. These sponsorships are valuable marketing tools but prompt concerns when unhealthy products are associated with popular sports organizations, especially those viewed by youth.

Methods: This descriptive study used Nielsen audience data to select 10 sports organizations with the most 2-17 year old viewers of 2015 televised events.

Adolescent preferences for weight terminology used by health care providers.

Background: In light of high rates of obesity and weight stigma in youth, the American Academy of Paediatrics recommends that paediatric health care professionals use appropriate, sensitive and non-stigmatizing language in communication about weight with youth. For these efforts to be effective, there is a need to identify weight-based language preferences among youth with overweight and obesity, as research in this area is scarce.

Objectives: The present study provides a systematic assessment of youth perspectives of weight-based language used by providers.

Predictors of Nutrition Quality in Early Child Education Settings in Connecticut.

Objective: This study assessed the dietary quality of lunches and feeding practices (family-style service, teacher role modeling) in Connecticut child care centers and made comparisons by center participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Design: Plate waste methods and visual observation of lunches served and consumed.

Setting: A total of 97 randomly selected licensed Connecticut child care centers (53 CACFP and 44 non-CACFP).

Food and beverage TV advertising to young children: Measuring exposure and potential impact.

Children of all ages are vulnerable to influence from exposure to unhealthy food advertisements, but experts raise additional concerns about children under 6 due to their more limited cognitive abilities. Most companies in the U.S.

Stigma Experienced by Children and Adolescents With Obesity.

The stigmatization of people with obesity is widespread and causes harm. Weight stigma is often propagated and tolerated in society because of beliefs that stigma and shame will motivate people to lose weight. However, rather than motivating positive change, this stigma contributes to behaviors such as binge eating, social isolation, avoidance of health care services, decreased physical activity, and increased weight gain, which worsen obesity and create additional barriers to healthy behavior change.

Food Swamps Predict Obesity Rates Better Than Food Deserts in the United States.

This paper investigates the effect of food environments, characterized as food swamps, on adult obesity rates. Food swamps have been described as areas with a high-density of establishments selling high-calorie fast food and junk food, relative to healthier food options. This study examines multiple ways of categorizing food environments as food swamps and food deserts, including alternate versions of the Retail Food Environment Index.

Marketing Food and Beverages to Youth Through Sports.

Food and beverage marketing has been identified as a major driver of obesity yet sports sponsorship remains common practice and represents millions of dollars in advertising expenditures. Research shows that food and beverage products associated with sports (e.g.

The Effect of Advertising on Children and Adolescents.

In ∼100 years, marketing to children went from a severely frowned upon practice to an integral part of growing up as companies came to realize that investing in marketing to children and adolescents provides excellent immediate and future dividends. Each year, enormous sums of money are spent to reach this valuable audience because children and adolescents spend billions on their own purchases, influence family decisions about what to buy, and promise a potential lifetime of brand loyalty. The channels to reach youth have grown, and marketers are increasingly using them, often blurring the distinction between entertainment and advertising.

Screen Media Exposure and Obesity in Children and Adolescents.

Obesity is one of the best-documented outcomes of screen media exposure. Many observational studies find relationships between screen media exposure and increased risks of obesity. Randomized controlled trials of reducing screen time in community settings have reduced weight gain in children, demonstrating a cause and effect relationship.

Internalizing Weight Stigma: Prevalence and Sociodemographic Considerations in US Adults.

Objective: This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the presence, severity, and sociodemographic correlates of weight bias internalization (WBI) across three distinct samples of US adults.

Methods: Levels of WBI were compared in (1) a sample of adults with obesity and heightened risk of weight stigma (N = 456), (2) an online community sample (N = 519), and (3) a national online panel (N = 2,529). Samples 2 and 3 comprised adults with and without obesity.

High School Students' Recommendations to Improve School Food Environments: Insights From a Critical Stakeholder Group.

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards. Students are most affected by efforts to improve the school food environment; yet, few studies directly include students. This study examined high school students' experiences of school meal reform to gain insight into implementation recommendations.

Intersectionality: An Understudied Framework for Addressing Weight Stigma.

Introduction: Obesity is an ongoing public health concern in the U.S. Weight stigma is linked to a number of obesogenic health outcomes, which complicate obesity treatment and prevention.

Getting to the Heart of Masculinity Stressors: Masculinity Threats Induce Pronounced Vagal Withdrawal During a Speaking Task.

Background: Previous work has found that traditional masculinity ideals and behaviors play a crucial role in higher rates of morbidity and mortality for men. Some studies also suggest that threatening men's masculinity can be stressful. Over time, this stress can weigh on men's cardiovascular and metabolic systems, which may contribute to men's higher rates of cardiometabolic health issues.

Association of a Community Campaign for Better Beverage Choices With Beverage Purchases From Supermarkets.

Importance: Data are needed to evaluate community interventions to reduce consumption of sugary drinks. Supermarket sales data can be used for this purpose.

Objective: To compare beverage sales in Howard County, Maryland (HC), with sales in comparison stores in a contiguous state before and during a 3-year campaign to reduce consumption of sugary beverages.

The application of defaults to optimize parents' health-based choices for children.

Optimal defaults is a compelling model from behavioral economics and the psychology of human decision-making, designed to shape or "nudge" choices in a positive direction without fundamentally restricting options. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of optimal (less obesogenic) defaults and parent empowerment priming on health-based decisions with parent-child (ages 3-8) dyads in a community-based setting. Two proof-of-concept experiments (one on breakfast food selections and one on activity choice) were conducted comparing the main and interactive effects of optimal versus suboptimal defaults, and parent empowerment priming versus neutral priming, on parents' health-related choices for their children.

The Role of Stigma in Weight Loss Maintenance Among U.S. Adults.

Background: Challenges of maintaining long-term weight loss are well-established and present significant obstacles in obesity prevention and treatment. A neglected but potentially important barrier to weight-loss maintenance is weight stigmatization.

Purpose: We examined the role of weight stigma-experienced and internalized-as a contributor to weight-loss maintenance and weight regain in adults.

Adolescent preferences and reactions to language about body weight.

Over 30% of youth and adolescents have overweight or obesity, and health care providers are increasingly discussing weight-based health with these patients. Stigmatizing language in provider-patient communication about obesity is well documented and could be particularly detrimental to youth and adolescents. Although some research has examined preferences for weight-based terminology among adults, no studies have addressed these issues in youth populations.

Appetite self-regulation: Environmental and policy influences on eating behaviors.

Objective: Appetite regulation is influenced by the environment, and the environment is shaped by food-related policies. This review summarizes the environment and policy research portion of an NIH Workshop (Bethesda, MD, 2015) titled "Self-Regulation of Appetite-It's Complicated."

Methods: In this paper, we begin by making the case for why policy is an important tool in efforts to improve nutrition, and we introduce an ecological framework that illustrates the multiple layers that influence what people eat.