Ameena Batada

Nine out of 10 Food Advertisements Shown During Saturday Morning Children’s Television Programming Are for Foods High in Fat, Sodium, or Added Sugars, or Low in Nutrients

A 2005 review by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies concluded that food marketing influences childrens food preferences, consumption, and health. Given the powerful influence of marketing on childrens diets, this cross-sectional study examined the types of foods, the nutritional quality of those foods, and the marketing techniques and messages used in food advertising during Saturday morning childrens television programming. During 27.5 hours of programming in May 2005, 49% of advertisements shown were for food (281 food advertisements out of 572 total advertisements). The most commonly advertised food categories were ready-to-eat breakfast cereal and cereal bars (27% of all food advertisements), restaurants (19% of food advertisements), and snack foods (18% of food advertisements). Ninety-one percent of food advertisements were for foods or beverages high in fat, sodium, or added sugars or were low in nutrients. Cartoon characters were used in 74% of food advertisements, and toy or other giveaways were used in 26% of food advertisements. About half of food advertisements contained health/nutrition or physical activity messages and 86% of food advertisements contained emotional appeals. This study provides food and nutrition professionals with information about the amount and types of food children are encouraged to eat during Saturday morning television programming. The findings can help food and nutrition professionals counsel children about healthful eating and/or develop programs or policies to balance those advertisements with healthful eating messages.

Poor Nutrition on the Menu: Children’s Meals at America’s Top Chain Restaurants

BACKGROUND We evaluated the nutritional quality of childrens meals at chain restaurants, because children obtain about a third of their daily calories from away-from-home foods and studies show that restaurant foods are often higher in calories and lower in nutritional value than foods prepared at home. METHODS We assessed the nutritional quality of childrens meals at the 50 largest U.S. restaurant chains by visiting each chains web site or calling the company. Eighteen of the chains did not have childrens meals and 10 did not provide adequate nutrition information to be included in the study. The nutritional quality of each meal combination was evaluated against a set of nutrition standards based on key nutrition recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. RESULTS Of the 22 restaurants that had childrens menus and available nutrition information, 99% of 1662 childrens meal combinations were of poor nutritional quality. CONCLUSIONS Restaurants should support healthier choices for children by reformulating existing menu items and adding new healthier items, posting calories on menus, and setting nutrition standards for marketing to children.

SNAP! CRACKLE! WHAT?

Childhood obesity has become a global concern. In the United States the proportion of American children that is overweight has tripled over the past 35 years (Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). Today, 18% of children aged 6 to 11 are overweight; with prevalence rates even higher among minority children and children living in lowincome households (Ogden et al., 2006). Many multilevel and interrelated factors influence children’s nutrition and physical activity, contributing to their weight status. Among the factors influencing children’s dietary changes over the past 35 years are the decrease in food preparation and family eating time, the increase in frequency of visits to fast food restaurants, and the increase of food marketing directed to children (Nestle, 2002). Children exposed to food advertising prefer and select highly advertised, but minimally nutritious foods (Borzekowski & Robinson, 2001; Gorn & Goldberg, 1982; Halford, Gillespie, Brown, Pontin, & Dovey, 2004) and children pester parents for advertised products (Atkin, 1978; Isler, Popper, & Ward, 1987; Rust, 1993). The food industry spends approximately ten billion dollars on marketing to children each year (Brownell & Battle Horgen, 2004). Of all food advertising, 75% is spent on television commercials, with the remaining spent on other media such as Internet advertising, radio, and magazines (Institute of Medicine, 2005). Since children watch, on average, about 3 hours of television a day, they are constantly exposed to television commercials (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2005). American children aged 2 to 12 years see about 12–21 commercials for food daily (Gantz, Schwartz, Angelini, & Rideout, 2007). The path from a child’s watching of a television food commercial to his or her consumption of an advertised product involves several elements (see Figure 1). A child watches a television commercial for a food product and processes information about the product and the characters, slogans, and songs used to promote the product, and he or she may develop positive attitudes toward the product. Later, when the child sees the product he or she may recognize a character or product attribute and recall his or her attitudes about the product, influencing him or her to request or purchase the food and consume it. All of this occurs in and is influenced by the child’s context, such as parent and sibling interactions, exposure to television and other media, exposure to advertised products and other foods in stores, home, and other settings, among other factors.

Prevalence of Artificial Food Colors in Grocery Store Products Marketed to Children

Artificial food colors (AFCs) in foods and beverages may be harmful to children. This study assesses the percentage of grocery store products marketed to children that contain AFCs, by category and company. The research team collected product and food-color information about 810 products in one grocery store in North Carolina in 2014. Overall, 350 products (43.2%) contained AFCs. The most common AFCs were Red 40 (29.8% of products), Blue 1 (24.2%), Yellow 5 (20.5%), and Yellow 6 (19.5%). Produce was the only category that did not have any AFCs. The highest percentage of products with AFCs was found in candies (96.3%), fruit-flavored snacks (94%), and drink mixes/powders (89.7%). Forty-one of the 66 companies marketed products containing AFCs. Given concerns about health effects of AFCs and high proportions of high-AFC categories, clinicians, parents, food companies, and the government can take steps to support children’s healthy eating and development by reducing AFCs in children’s diets.

Foods and Beverages Available at SNAP-Authorized Drugstores in Sections of North Carolina

Objective To assess healthy food availability in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–authorized drugstores by store chain and neighborhood income level in 3 regions of North Carolina. Design Cross‐sectional, descriptive study. Setting Twenty‐five counties in North Carolina. Participants A total of 108 drugstores (36 CVS Health, 36 Rite Aid, and 36 Walgreens). Main Outcome Measure(s) Fifty foods and beverages offered at drugstores, categorized as healthier and less healthy. Analysis Kruskal‐Wallis tests were used to test differences in the availability of foods and beverages by chain and neighborhood income. Results Of the 50 foods/beverages observed, 11 were available at all drugstores. Three of the 36 (8%) healthier items were available at all stores (100% fruit juice, water, and high‐fiber cereal) whereas 8 of the 14 less healthy items (57%) were available at all stores (chips, sports drinks, energy drinks, regular soda, diet soda, sugar‐sweetened beverages, beer, and wine). Only 3% of drugstores offered fresh vegetables and 4% offered fresh fruits. Less than 20% offered frozen chicken or beef. For 36 healthier foods, 11 differed by chain (28%); for less healthy foods 2 of 14 differed by chain (7%). Foods and beverages offered did not vary by neighborhood income. Conclusions and Implications Although drugstores offer some healthier items, few offer fresh produce. As the drugstore industry changes, it is important for the nutrition community to study the impact of these changes on food purchasing behavior and ultimately health.

Utilizing Contemplative Practices With Undergraduate Students in a Community-Engaged Course on Health Disparities

Public health courses that provide opportunities for applied learning to develop students’ understanding of health disparities and methods for achieving health equity are of critical importance. Contemplative pedagogy can cultivate among students personal skills such as open awareness, introspection, nonjudgment, and compassion as students engage with communities across class, race, and other lines of difference. This article describes how contemplative practices are introduced and aligned with learning objectives in an undergraduate community-engaged course on health parity at a public liberal arts university in North Carolina, with the intent of contributing to the growing literature on contemplative education and how it may be appropriate in public health education. Contemplative pedagogy in this course offers opportunities for students to learn with their minds, bodies, and hearts. This article presents course context and structure, introducing contemplative practices to students, and two specific examples of contemplative activities that may help students better understand diversity and their role in sustainable health equity. The article concludes with a discussion and resources for instructors interested in contemplative pedagogy. As contemplative pedagogy gains ground in college instruction, it may also provide critical skill-building for students of public health.

Food cost is the least of my worries: a qualitative study exploring food and beverage purchasing decisions among parents enrolled in the WIC program

ABSTRACT Addressing barriers to the Women, Infants and Children [WIC] food purchasing experience may lead to interventions to help manage WIC food costs; allowing more qualified families to enroll in WIC without compromising costs. To examine factors that influence food purchasing decisions among WIC participants, an inductive approach was used to identify themes in qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Twenty-six parents, from WIC clinics and childcare centers in the Southeast Region, participated in this study. Meal planning, store selection, price consideration, and voucher usage, all emerged as themes related to WIC food purchasing behavior among this sample.