Rudd Center Recent Publications
Teachers Say Improved Policies Needed to Address Weight-Based Bullying
A new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the
University of Connecticut found that teachers and administrators
recognize weight-related bullying and eating disorders as problems in
their schools that warrant improved prevention and interventions at the
policy level. "Overall, findings indicate substantial support for a
number of policy actions to address both of these problems in the
student population," Rebecca Puhl, the lead author and Deputy Director
of our Center, said in the Journal of School Health article. In
particular, 85 to 94 percent of educators supported policies to reduce
weight-based bullying in the school curriculum, improve anti-bullying
policies to protect students from weight-based victimization, and train
school staff how to address weight-based bullying. "Given that educators
and school personnel are involved in the day-to-day implementation of
school-based policies, it will be important to continue to engage their
participation in policy remedies that can improve the health and safety
of their students," Dr. Puhl concluded.
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Rudd Center in the News
The New York Times quoted Rudd Center Deputy Director Rebecca Puhl in a June 16 Well blog by staff writer Roni Caryn Rabin, "Parents Should Avoid Comments on a Child's Weight." Dr. Puhl's comments were included in similar stories by other media outlets, including Ireland's Sunday World and the French edition of Slate.
In a June 16 story announcing that Philadelphia became the first major
U.S. city to adopt a tax on sweetened beverages, Rudd Center Director
Marlene Schwartz told Bloomberg news that
sugary drinks are in a class by themselves as unhealthy products. "They
are uniquely associated with excess calories, and they're empty
calories. Even a cookie might have some sort of nutrition in it, but
there's really zero nutrition in sugary drinks." Several other media
outlets carried the article.
Dr. Schwartz was quoted June 20 in a Philadelphia Newsworks (public radio) piece that
examined the impact on potential health benefits from including
artificially sweetened diet soda in the city's sugary drink tax. "The
science on diet beverages is not as clear," she said. "That's been the
problem."
MedPage Today featured Dr. Schwartz among food policy and nutrition
experts in a piece answering frequently asked questions about sugary
drink taxes: "Friday Feedback: Should Nation Be Sweet on a Soda Tax?"
A June 20 Progressive Grocer article cited our Center's Snack FACTS report,
released last November, showing that children saw substantially more TV
ads for unhealthy snack foods in the previous five years, despite
companies' promises to market healthier products to kids.
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What's Simmering with Our Friends
Marie Bragg, a New York University Assistant Professor who studies food
marketing, obesity and food policy, was the lead author on a study in Pediatrics showing
that teen music stars in food and beverage commercials promoted mostly
unhealthy products. These included high-calorie snack chips and
chocolate, fast food, and sugary sodas. Bragg, who trained at the Rudd Center, was quoted on her findings in numerous media outlets, such as CNN and AP. She
said it would be unrealistic to expect teens to eat only healthy foods
or to expect music stars to endorse only healthy products. "Moderation"
and "a better balance" of advertising would be ideal, Bragg told AP
Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner.
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Forum on Early Childhood Nutrition
UConn Rudd Center Director Marlene Schwartz (left)
and CHDI President and CEO Judith Meyers
The Rudd Center partnered with the Child
Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc. (CHDI) and the
UConn Health Center for Public Health and Health Policy (CPHHP)
to host an early childhood food policy forum at the Rudd Center on June
14. More than 55 state officials, health professionals, researchers,
advocates, and early care and education providers participated in the
forum, entitled "Aligning Policy with Research: Promoting Sound Nutrition in Early Childhood." Rudd
Center Director Marlene Schwartz opened the forum and provided an
overview of the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a federal program
that supports nutritious meals for infants and children in child care.
Rudd Center Economic Initiatives Director Tatiana Andreyeva presented
preliminary findings on her research on meals served in Connecticut
childcare centers. Ann Ferris, Professor Emerita and former Director of
the UConn Health Center for Public Health and Health Policy, presented
her research on obesity prevention and early childcare policies. After
the research presentations, CHDI President and CEO Judith Meyers gave an
overview of recommendations included in a recent policy brief: Ensuring Children Grow Up at a Healthy Weight: Policy Opportunities to Prevent Obesity. She
then invited panelists to join her in a facilitated discussion, which
was followed by breakout sessions in which forum participants discussed
specific actions for improving the nutrition environment in early
childhood.
Professor Emerita Ann Ferris,
UConn Health Center for Public Health and Health Policy
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New Online Graduate Course on Youth Bullying
Offered by Rudd Center's Professor Rebecca Puhl
Bullying is a common and complex problem
facing today's children and adolescents. In a new UConn graduate course
offered this fall by Professor Puhl, students will examine this
multi-faceted problem and the role that peers, families, schools, media,
culture, and government policies play in helping to reduce bullying in
youth. The course will also examine the impact of bullying on children's
health, evidence from school-based prevention and intervention
programs, assessment of bullying, and laws and policies to address
bullying. For more information about the course, click here.
This online course, called "Bullying and Victimization in Childhood and Adolescence" (HDFS 5002.001) is offered through UConn's eCampus and
is open to graduate students both within and outside UConn. If you are
interested and are not a UConn student, please visit: http://ecampus.uconn.edu/courses.php
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Resources to Address Weight Bias
Improving Obesity Care Continuing Medical Education (CME) Course
Developed by the Rudd Center for Food
Policy and Obesity and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine,
this free, one-hour, online accredited course is for health
professionals (clinicians, nurses, social workers and dietitians, and
trainees) to improve the quality of care for patients with overweight
and obesity, and help reduce weight stigmatization in clinical settings.
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Parents: See What's Happening at
Rudd 'Roots Parents
click here
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