ASU Food Policy and Environment Research Group
A collection of scholarly work created by the ASU Food Policy and Environment Research Group under the leadership of Professor Punam Ohri-Vachaspati. The group examines policies, programs, and environments that influence food consumption and physical activity behaviors and health outcomes in disadvantaged populations. We aim to improve the health of children and families through comprehensive policy and environmental approaches.
Filtering by
- Creators: Lloyd, Kristen
- Creators: Schaefer, David
- Creators: Tucker, Wesley
Background
The transition from the home to college is a phase in which emerging adults shift toward more unhealthy eating and physical activity patterns, higher body mass indices, thus increasing risk of overweight/obesity. Currently, little is understood about how changing friendship networks shape weight gain behaviors. This paper describes the recruitment, data collection, and data analytic protocols for the SPARC (Social impact of Physical Activity and nutRition in College) study, a longitudinal examination of the mechanisms by which friends and friendship networks influence nutrition and physical activity behaviors and weight gain in the transition to college life.
Methods
The SPARC study aims to follow 1450 university freshmen from a large university over an academic year, collecting data on multiple aspects of friends and friendship networks. Integrating multiple types of data related to student lives, ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) are administered via a cell phone application, devilSPARC. EMAs collected in four 1-week periods (a total of 4 EMA waves) are integrated with linked data from web-based surveys and anthropometric measurements conducted at four times points (for a total of eight data collection periods including EMAs, separated by ~1 month). University databases will provide student card data, allowing integration of both time-dated data on food purchasing, use of physical activity venues, and geographical information system (GIS) locations of these activities relative to other students in their social networks.
Discussion
Findings are intended to guide the development of more effective interventions to enhance behaviors among college students that protect against weight gain during college.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aims to provide vital information for planning, implementing and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland.
These five communities are being supported by RWJF's New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity.
Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community.
Using a comprehensive research study, the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University is working collaboratively with the State Program Office for New Jersey Partnership for Healthy I<ids and the five communities to address these information needs. The main components of the study include:
• A household survey of 1700 families with 3 -18 year old children
• De-identified heights and weights data from public school districts
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data
Data books and maps based on the results of the study are being shared with the community coalitions in the five communities to help them plan their interventions.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The epidemic of overweight and obesity and its multiple causes have captured the attention of researchers, program administrators, politicians, and the public alike. Recently, many stakeholder groups have started investigating the role that food and nutrition assistance programs play in the etiology of the problem and in identifying possible solutions. As a result, policy changes have been recommended and implemented for programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to improve the nutritional quality of foods they offer to their participants. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is also attracting attention as a potential vehicle to reduce the burden of obesity among its users. Because of the tough economic and political climate in which all federal programs currently operate, the need for making nutrition assistance programs more efficient and effective in addressing health and nutrition related problems affecting the country has never been greater.
This document proposes a set of strategies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of SNAP. These strategies are based on a review of research literature, recommendations from expert groups, and the experiences of other communities and states. We include information that pertains to potential stakeholder arguments for and against each strategy, as well as the political feasibility, financial impact, and logistical requirements for implementation. We drew candidate strategies from the range of options that have been tested through research and from policies that have been implemented around the country. The order of strategies in this document is based on overall strength of supportive research, as well as political and implementation feasibility. The four proposed strategies are improving access to healthy foods to provide better choices, incentivizing the purchase of healthy foods, restricting access to unhealthy foods, and maximizing education to more effectively reach a larger population of SNAP participants.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
Objectives: Conflicting findings on associations between food and physical activity (PA) environments and children's weight status demand attention in order to inform effective interventions. We assess relationships between the food and PA environments in inner-city neighborhoods and children's weight status and address sources of conflicting results of prior research.
Methods: Weight status of children ages 3-18 was assessed using parent-measured heights and weights. Data were collected from 702 children living in four low-income cities in New Jersey between 2009 and 2010. Proximity of a child's residence to a variety of food and PA outlets was measured in multiple ways using geo-coded data. Multivariate analyses assessed the association between measures of proximity and weight status.
Results: Significant associations were observed between children's weight status and proximity to convenience stores in the 1/4 mile radius (OR = 1.9) and with presence of a large park in the 1/2 mile radius (OR = 0.41). No associations were observed for other types of food and PA outlets.
Conclusions: Specific aspects of the food and PA environments are predictors of overweight and obese status among children, but the relationships and their detection are dependent upon aspects of the geospatial landscape of each community.