Schools are a critical setting for improving child nutrition and food security and preventing obesity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Education, known as CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) in California, implements obesity prevention efforts that utilize…

Background: School-based physical activity (PA) programs are an equitable, evidence-based approach to combat health and PA disparities. This study examined factors associated with implementation of BE Physically Active 2Day (BEPA 2.0), a K-5 school-based PA program, and examined how support from Cooperative Extension via Supplemental Nutrition…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released an update to the nutrition standards schools must meet in the breakfasts and lunches served to more than 30 million children. The last time USDA fully updated school meal standards was in 2012. Research on the impact of those changes found that the nutritional quality of school meals…

Implementing policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes has several well-known challenges that have been documented in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education's (SNAP-Ed) comprehensive approach to obesity prevention and reduction. The purpose of the current study was to explore the use of community engagement (CE) as a strategy to…

USDA helps millions of children from low-income households access healthy meals by purchasing food, including seafood, for the NSLP. USDA-purchased foods represent about 15 to 20 percent of the food served in the NSLP. According to the DGA, programs, such as the NSLP, can play an essential role in providing access to healthy meals. This can help…

With the beginning of the Corona pandemic at the beginning of 2019 and its rapid spread, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was among the countries that moved very quickly to address this matter. All state institutions played the role related to them. Saudi Ministry of Health launched an intensive package of warning, awareness, and guidance in the form…

Methods: Summative focus groups with teachers across three Head Start centers were conducted to explore teachers' attitudes toward the HH2H curriculum. The curriculum consisted of eight weekly nutrition lessons, interactive activities with puppets, taste tests, and physical activity set to music as a component of the Impact of a Preschool Obesity…

Rural communities across the United States often face barriers to accessing healthy food, leading to elevated food insecurity and obesity-related health issues. Geographic and environmental challenges, high food costs, limited availability of healthy options, and low health literacy hinder informed nutritional decision-making. This study examined…

Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly recognized for their positive impact on children's physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health. However, no mindfulness-based lifestyle interventions have focused on improving both the physical and mental well-being of economically marginalized preschoolers. Therefore, this one-group study…

Food retailers are key stakeholders in the development, implementation, and effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nutrition pilot programs. Qualitative interviews were conducted to gather insight from food retailers regarding the feasibility of proposed strategies to improve food choices among SNAP participants. Two…

The Recipe 4 Success preventive intervention targeted multiple factors critical to the health and well-being of toddlers living in poverty. This randomized controlled trial, which was embedded within Early Head Start home visits for 12 weeks, included 242 racially and ethnically diverse families (51% girls; toddler mean age = 2.58 years; data…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for low-income Americans. SNAP-Education, commonly referred to as SNAP-Ed, is the nutrition education arm of SNAP benefits. SNAP-Ed aims to help individuals stretch their food budgets wisely while working to make healthy…

To understand the broader societal context for supporting the healthy development and well-being of infants and toddlers, the following excerpt from the "State of Babies Yearbook: 2022 Executive Summary" presents key findings on the status of America's families with young children. As of August 2022, the reconciliation bill proposed in…

War and other forms of conflict are frequently the culprit for disrupted immunization practices, as government attention and funding are diverted elsewhere and people are displaced due to fighting. In other instances, the causes are related to deficiencies in resources and infrastructure, such as limited quantities of vaccinations and/or…

The issue of obesity continues to be a concern in the US. Throughout the years, research has shown that adopting healthier eating habits and increasing physical activity can help people lead healthier lives. Families of low socioeconomic status suffer disproportionately from poor health. Nutrition education programs have been successful in…