e-newsletter
 vol. 1 (3), summer 2014
Kids Like Healthier School Meals

70% of U.S. public elementary & middle school administrators report that students generally like the new healthier school lunches.

BTG's research brief (PDF) and paper received a great deal of news coverage. This Reuters piece summarizes the elementary-school-level study's findings nicely. See more stories on our News page.
 
 
Ads Target Highest-Risk Youth

African-American youth and kids in lower-income areas are more likely to be exposed to local TV ads for fast food and sugary drinks.

For more details on socioeconomic and racial targeting of unhealthy food and beverage TV advertising, see our new study. 
 
 
Promoting Wellness in Schools

Recess, physical education, school nutrition, marketing in schools . . . there are many ways to promote student wellness. 

Use this series of 7 research briefs, developed by BTG and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to learn how to promote student health through local school wellness policies.
 
 
Do Stricter Meal Standards Work?

"When you implement healthier standards, that is when the school lunch program does what it is designed to do: provide healthier foods and reduce obesity for students who come from low-income households."--Dan Taber

Researcher Dan Taber discussed on Heritage Radio how his work with BTG informs the conversation about school food policy. Listen to the full interview, and find the studies he refers to here and here.
 
 
When Schools Stock More Candy...

. . . kids eat less fruit, BTG found. But when schools make fruits and vegetables easily accessible, kids eat more of them.

See our research brief (PDF) and paper for more details on our findings and implications for the new Smart Snacks regulations.
 
 


 
Bridging the Gap is a nationally recognized research program dedicated to improving the  
understanding of how policies and environmental factors influence diet, physical activity and  
obesity among youth, as well as youth tobacco use. For more information, visit  
 
A program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.