- Author: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
Current recommendations encourage caregivers of young children to delay the introduction of sugar-sweetened beverages–beverages with added sugars such as soda, sweetened fruit drinks like lemonade, sweetened teas, and sports drinks–until after the child turns two-years old. A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior by University of California researchers further supports this. When researchers evaluated the diet of over 2200 young children across the nation enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children–also known as WIC–they found that those given SSBs during the first two years of life had lower diet quality at three years old. In contrast, the researchers found that delaying the introduction of 100% fruit juice during the first two years of life was not associated with lower diet quality. Study authors include Isabel Thompson, Patrick Bradshaw, and Mahasin Mujahid from UC Berkeley, Lorrene Ritchie from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute, and Lauren Au from UC Davis. Researchers used data from the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2, a federal study conducted with funding from the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
Parents play an important role in influencing what their kids eat and drink. Harvard, Wayne State University, Stanford, and University of California researchers discovered in a new study that parents who read kids' storybooks with messaging on healthy beverages are more likely to serve their children healthier beverages–such as water–and are less likely to serve their children sugary drinks. Parents who read the storybooks are also more likely to consider sugary drinks as unhealthy beverages. The study was conducted with a diverse group of over 2000 parents with children aged six months to five years old. Parents in the study read pages from the children's book Potter the Otter: A Tale About Water, developed by FIRST 5 Santa Clara County to encourage young children to drink healthy beverages. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Study co-authors include Anna Grummon, Dina Goodman, Meg Salvia, and Aviva Musicus from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Christina Hecht from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute, Rebeccah Sokol from Wayne State University, and Anisha Patel from Stanford. The study was funded by FIRST 5 Santa Clara County. The book, which is approved for use in SNAP-Ed programming, is available for free in English and Spanish in digital format online.
In the United States, over 25 million people work and learn at colleges and universities, consuming an untold number of meals, snacks, and beverages while on campus. Unlike in K-12 schools, higher education institutions are not governed by federal policies to ensure that foods and beverages sold on campus meet minimum nutrition standards. While many universities participate in voluntary campus wellness initiatives, only one university–the University of California (UC), Berkeley–has officially adopted a comprehensive, campus-wide nutrition policy, the Food and Beverage Choices (FBC) Policy. Researchers at the UC Nutrition Policy Institute and UC Berkeley collaborated with the FBC policy implementation team to publish a case report in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, presenting detailed information on the development, establishment, implementation and evaluation of the FBC policy. The report includes discussion of the challenges and barriers encountered during policy implementation and offers valuable insight for other universities seeking to develop and implement their own nutrition policies. The report was developed by Zachary Rickrode-Fernandez of Center for Environmental Health and UC Berkeley, Janice Kao of the UC Nutrition Policy Institute, and Mary Lesser and Kim Guess of UC Berkeley.
California's 2010 Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act (AB2084) specifies that only unflavored low-fat milk or nonfat milk be served to children aged 2 years or older, allows no more than 1 daily serving of 100% juice, prohibits beverages with added sweeteners, and requires that safe drinking water be readily accessible throughout the day in all licensed California (CA) child care centers and family child care homes. A state-wide survey of CA child care providers conducted in 2016 by the University of California, Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) suggested that less than half (45%) of providers fully adhered to the beverage policy. Researchers at NPI partnered with the UCSF School of Nursing, California Childcare Health Program and UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Cooperative Extension (CE), with support from a UC ANR grant, to develop a brief online training in English and Spanish for providers to increase adherence with the policy. Researchers evaluated the online training, 'Healthy Beverages in Early Care and Education', combined with six months of ongoing technical assistance from CE nutrition educators. The study enrolled 65 licensed child care providers in California. Results suggest that the online training can improve providers' awareness of the policy and knowledge of healthy beverage practices; however, it may not improve providers' adherence to the policy. Further, it suggests that additional technical assistance from CE nutrition educators beyond 6-months may be required to further increase awareness, knowledge, and policy adherence. Results from the study were published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior on June 1, 2021. The study was conducted by NPI researchers Danielle Lee, Kaela Plank, Hannah Thompson, Christina Hecht and Lorrene Ritchie in collaboration with Marisa Neelon from UC ANR, Karina Díaz Rios from UC Merced, and Abbey Alkon from the UCSF School of Nursing. The training is available online for free in English and Spanish for California child care providers, and for $15 for providers located outside of California.
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' latest study of 680 licensed child care providers across California evaluating adherence to California's 2010 Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act (CA AB2084) suggests that nearly half were adherent to the policy in 2016, an increase from about one quarter shortly after the policy was implemented in 2012. The study was published in Preventing Chronic Disease. California's AB2084 policy requires licensed child care sites to (1) serve only lowfat or nonfat milk to children two years of age or older, (2) limit juice to not more than one serving per day of 100-percent juice, (3) serve no beverages with added sweeteners, either natural or artificial, and (4) make clean and safe drinking water readily available and accessible for consumption throughout the day. These requirements align with the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nutrition standards. Providers participating in CACFP and child care centers were found to be more compliant than those not participating in CACFP and family child care homes, respectively. In 2016, providers were most adherent to the sugar-sweetened beverages (97%) and 100% juice (91%) requirements, while fewer were adherent to the requirements on drinking water (77%) and milk (65%). To support increased adherence to the beverage policy, NPI collaborated with Abbey Alkon from the UC San Francisco School of Nursing and California Childcare Health Program to develop a free online training in English and Spanish for California child care providers, funded by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The statewide child care study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation).