OBJECTIVES Today's supermarket contains hundreds of packaged foods specifically targeted at children. Yet research has shown that children are confused by the various visual messages found on packaged food products. This study explores children's nutrition knowledge with regard to packaged food products, to uncover strengths and difficulties they have in evaluating the healthfulness of these fo...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to design, develop, and evaluate a game for health, "Gustavo in Gnam's Planet" ("Gustavo"), aimed to improve knowledge on healthy foods and to increase consumption of healthy foods. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Eighty-three high school students were enrolled in the study. The game was designed and developed by a multidisciplinary team. Behavioral change theories w...

OBJECTIVE The present study investigated parents' understanding and approaches to providing energy-dense and nutrient-poor 'extra foods' to pre-school children and explored variation between parents of low and high socio-economic status in relation to these issues. DESIGN We conducted thirteen focus groups. Data were subject to framework analysis. SETTING Child-care centres in distinctly so...

OBJECTIVE In order to mitigate childhood obesity, evidence on what influences children's health behaviours is needed to inform new health promotion strategies. The present study investigated the association between parental practices and their child's diet and body weight status. DESIGN Grade 5 students and their parents completed health surveys. Parents were asked how much they 'encourage th...

OBJECTIVE The question-behaviour effect (QBE) refers to the finding that measuring behavioural intentions increases performance of the relevant behaviour. This effect has been used to change health behaviours. The present research asks why the QBE occurs and evaluates one possible mediator-attitude accessibility. DESIGN University staff and students (N = 151) were randomly assigned to an inte...

OBJECTIVE The present study measured the perceived impact and political and implementation feasibility of state-level policy strategies related to increasing access to healthy foods and limiting unhealthy foods. DESIGN Potential state-level policy strategies to improve access to healthy foods were identified through a review of evidence-based literature and policy recommendations. Respondents...

Health-related food taxes and subsidies are a hot topic in public health research. A number of countries have recently introduced such pricing strategies with the aim to promote healthier food choices. One of the most recent examples is Mexico, which introduced an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages of 1 peso per litre (approximately a 10% price increase based on 2013 prices) and a sales ta...

There is limited research on how taxes and subsidies would influence the energy and nutritional quality of food purchases. Using an experimental analogue purchasing task, we examined the effects of increasing the price of high-calorie-for-nutrient foods or reducing the price of low-calorie-for-nutrient foods by 12.5% and 25% on mothers' purchases of 68 common foods and drinks. Taxing less healt...

Research demonstrates that food desert environments limit low-income shoppers' ability to purchase healthy foods, thereby increasing their likelihood of diet-related illnesses. We sought to understand how individuals in an urban American food desert make grocery-purchasing decisions, and specifically why unhealthy purchases arise. Analysis is based on ethnographic data from participant observat...

The world-wide rise in obesity parallels growing concerns of global warming and depleting natural resources. These issues are often considered separately but there may be considerable benefit to raising awareness of the impact of dietary behaviours and practices on the food supply. Australians have diets inconsistent with recommendations, typically low in fruit and vegetables and high in energy...