Nutrition in Children and Adolescents
Knowledge Path
Knowledge Path Table of Contents
- Overview
- Web Sites:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z - Additional Electronic Publications
- Databases: Data, Literature and Research, and Programs
- Electronic Newsletters and Online Discussion Groups
Resources on Specific Aspects of Nutrition
- Child Care/Early Childhood Education
- Food Marketing to Children
- Food Safety
- Food Security and Nutrition Assistance Programs
- School-Based Nutrition Education and Food Service
Please provide feedback on this knowledge path.
This knowledge path about
child and adolescent nutrition has been
compiled by the Maternal
and Child Health Library at
Georgetown University. It offers a selection
of current, high-quality resources that
analyze data, describe public health
campaigns and other promotion programs,
and report on research aimed at identifying
promising strategies for improving nutrition
and eating behaviors within families,
schools, and communities. A separate
section lists nutrition resources for
families. The final part of the knowledge
path presents resources on specific aspects
of child and adolescent nutrition: child
care and early childhood education, food
safety, food marketing to children, food
security and nutrition assistance programs,
and school-based nutrition education
and food services. This knowledge path
will be updated periodically.
Related topics: Please see our knowledge
paths about physical
activity and
children and adolescents and overweight
and obesity in
children and adolescents.
See the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) issue brief, Nutrition
and the health of young people, rev.
ed. (2007). This brief provides
data and facts about nutrition and
eating behaviors among children and
adolescents and the relationship of
these behaviors to disease and academic
performance.
- Adolescent
Nutrition.
Contains resources for health professionals,
educators, and students about adolescent
nutrition and eating disorders.
This Web resource is presented
by Jane Mitchell Rees, Ph.D., R.D.,
C.D., at the University of Washington
School of Public Health and Community
Medicine with support from the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Agricultural
Research Service (ARS).
Contains program summaries,
action plans, and annual
reports about its Human
Nutrition National Program,
of which the Children's
Nutrition Research Center
(CNRC) is
a part. ARS is responsible
for the National
Agricultural Library
(NAL) and
its online catalog, AGRICOLA.
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Nutrition.
Contains pediatric nutrition resources
on topics that include sports nutrition,
breastfeeding, starting solid foods,
calcium intake, anemia, obesity
and overweight, and managing high
blood pressure. Resources include
growth charts, policy statements,
clinical practice guidelines, patient-education
materials, and texts.
- American
Heart Association (AHA): Children
and Nutrition.
Provides program information, encyclopedia
entries, and scientific statements
related to children and nutrition.
Topics include dietary guidelines,
cholesterol, fiber, high blood
pressure, cardiac disease, weight
management, and physical fitness.
- Association
of State and Territorial Public
Health Nutrition Directors (ASTPHND).
Offers news, meeting and professional-development
information, and resources about
public health nutrition that include
Blueprint for nutrition and physical activity: Cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle. (2006).
Moving to the Future: Tools for Planning Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs. Presents resources to develop successful community programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity. Includes instructions for conducting a community assessment, writing objectives, developing a plan, and evaluating programs; forms, surveys, and worksheets that can be adapted to a community program; and discussion forums.
- Center
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
(CNPP).
Contains reports, journal articles,
dietary-guidance materials, food
plans, Web-based training, and
symposium proceedings. Resources
and initiatives include
Dietary guidelines for Americans. Provides background materials and information about how to apply the guidelines, which emphasize healthy eating and physical activity to maintain a healthy weight. Links to the current Dietary guidelines for Americans, 6th ed. (2005) and accompanying material.
Expenditures on children by families. A series of annual reports that provide estimates on the cost of raising children from birth to age 17.
- Center
for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI): Nutrition Policy.
Offers articles, reports, and model
legislation about improving child
and adolescent nutrition. Initiatives
include efforts to decrease
the marketing of low-nutrition
foods to children, improve
school foods, improve
food safety,
and educate children about healthy
foods via its Smart-Mouth.org Web
site.
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Contains a wealth of nutrition
resources and initiatives that
include
CDC's Guide to Community Preventive Services. Contains information about a systematic review of studies to develop recommendations for population-based interventions addressing nutrition.
CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Provides data about nutrition and diet in the United States, including results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Resources include
- CDC growth charts: United States (2000). Contains tools and background information for plotting the growth of infants, children, and adolescents through age 20. CDC and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) developed two sets of self-directed, interactive training modules for health professionals using the pediatric growth charts in clinical and public health settings. Topics for one set of modules include background information about the rationale for changes in the revised charts; using and interpreting the body-mass-index-for-age charts; and recommendations to screen, assess, and manage overweight in children and adolescents. Topics for the second set of modules include accurate measuring (equipment and technique) and using the growth charts with various populations, such as adolescents and children with special health care needs.
CDC's Nutrition and Physical Activity Program: Nutrition Resources for Health Professionals. Contains data and statistics; information about programs and campaigns, including state-based nutrition and physical activity programs; nutrition guidelines; and tools for planning, implementing, and evaluating nutrition-intervention programs. Also presents state legislative information and results from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS).
CDC's Public Health Training Network. Contains distance-learning resources for public health professionals on a variety of topics, including nutrition.
Also see CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) and Nutrition for Everyone.
- Children's
Nutrition Research Center (CNRC).
Contains a wealth of resources
about nutrition for pregnant and
nursing women and for infants,
children, and adolescents. Resources
include research and training information,
articles, an interactive healthy
eating calculator,
an electronic
newsletter,
downloadable healthy eating posters
for schools, and links to nutrition-related
Web sites and electronic publications.
CNRC is a cooperative venture between
the Baylor College of Medicine,
Texas Children's Hospital, and
the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS).
- Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC). Provides databases and resource lists with links to reports, policy statements, Web sites, electronic discussion groups, and other information tools on a wide range of food and nutrition topics for health and education professionals. Presents a selection of resources about lifecycle nutrition with sections about child nutrition and health and adolescence. Topic-specific information services include the Healthy Meals Resource System (HSMRS) and WIC Works Resource System. A recent resource list is
- Healthy
People 2010.
Offers information about this national
health-promotion and disease-prevention
initiative. It is coordinated by
the Office
of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion (ODPHP). Healthy
People contains
467 objectives in 28 focus areas. Focus
Area 19: Nutrition and Overweight addresses
weight status and growth; food
and nutrient consumption; iron
deficiency and anemia; nutrition
education in schools and work sites;
nutrition counseling for medical
conditions; and food security. Focus
Area 10: Food Safety addresses
foodborne illnesses. Healthy
People provides
background information on the initiative;
the complete text, Healthy
People 2010: Understanding and
improving health, 2nd ed. (2000)
and Healthy
People 2010: Midcourse review (2006);
a list of the Healthy
People partners
and related sites; and other Healthy
People publications.
See Data2010 for
data about the Healthy
People 2010 nutrition
objectives. See the HP2010
Information Access Project for
access to published literature
related to the Healthy
People 2010 nutrition
objectives. Also view proposed Healthy
People 2020 objectives
for nutrition
and weight status.
- Institute
of Medicine: Dietary Reference
Intake (DRI) Research Synthesis.
Presents information about understanding
and using the DRIs, a set of values
that serve as standards for nutrient
intakes for healthy persons in
the United States and Canada. The
DRIs cover 46 nutrient substances,
and the DRI values are developed
for different genders and age groups,
including infants, children, adolescents,
and pregnant and breastfeeding
women. Information is presented
in tables, reports, and in the
eight-volume set. Recent resources
include
Dietary Reference Intakes research synthesis: Workshop summary. (2006).
Dietary Reference Intakes: The essential guide to nutrient requirements. (2006). This guide summarizes the eight-volume set.
- Leadership,
Education and Training (LET) Program
in Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Contains Web-based curricula and
training information about maternal
and child health (MCH) nutrition
for nutrition professionals and
other health professionals who
work with women, infants, children,
and adolescents. Curricula topics
include public health nutrition,
childhood obesity, health disparities,
and connecting with pregnant adolescents.
LET is part of the School of Public
Health at the University of Minnesota
and is funded by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Maternal
and Child Health Training Program:
Nutrition Grantees Collaborative
Web Site.
Offers information about eight
university-based MCH nutrition
training programs. Presents information
about grantee resources, meetings
and conferences, and position announcements.
The training program is part of
the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- National
Association of Pediatric Nurse
Practitioners (NAPNAP): Healthy
Eating and Activity Together (HEAT).
Presents an evidence-based clinical
practice guideline and resource
kit for this initiative to improve
child health through culturally
appropriate and strength-based
interventions that build the family's
ability to achieve the ideal balance
between nutrition and physical
activity to support optimal growth
and wellness.
- Public
Health Nutrition for the 21st Century.
Presents six online modules about
pubic health nutrition practice,
placing particular emphasis on
addressing Healthy People 2010
objectives relevant to MCH and
nutrition. The modules address
nutrition programs and policies,
community assessment, nutrition
epidemiology, nutrition in pregnancy,
nutrition prevention of chronic
disease, and obesity among children
and adults. The program is produced
by the University
of North Carolina School of Public
Health.
- Steps
to a HealthierUS Initiative.
Contains program, conference, and
grant information as well as reports,
fact sheets, and data for this
national initiative by the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to
improve the lives of Americans
through innovative and effective
community-based chronic-disease-prevention
and disease-control programs, of
which good nutrition is an important
component. Resources include Small
Step and Smallstep
KIDS!
- Weight-Control
Information Network (WIN).
Offers publications and
research information about nutrition,
physical activity, and overweight
and obesity. Publications are available
in English and Spanish. WIN is
an information service of the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Additional Electronic Publications
- Leadership
for Healthy Communities.
2007. Improving
access to healthy foods: A guide
for policy-makers.
Washington, DC: Leadership for Healthy
Communities. This report describes
how state and local officials can
facilitate healthy eating by adopting
policies that help communities improve
access to affordable, healthy foods
for all residents.
- Mathieson A, Koller
T. 2006. Addressing
the socioeconomic determinants of healthy
eating habits and physical activity
levels among adolescents.
Copenhagen, Denmark: World
Health Organization Regional Office
for Europe.
This report highlights case studies
and survey data presented at a forum
to look at the socioeconomic determinants
of healthy eating habits and physical
activity levels among adolescents in
Europe. The report summarizes the forum's
main conclusions on what the issues
are and how policymakers can tackle
them.
- McCann B. 2006. Community
design for healthy eating: How land
use and transportation solutions
can help.
Princeton, NJ: Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
This paper explores the ways the
built environment affects access
to nutritious foods for people living
in neighborhoods where most residents
have low incomes.
- Mikkelsen L, Chehimi
S. 2007. Links
between the neighborhood food environment
and childhood nutrition.
Oakland, CA: Prevention
Institute.
This paper identifies key investigations
of the neighborhood food environment,
examines current efforts to bring about
improvements, and discusses new research
and policy priorities.
- National
Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD).
2006. Building
strong bones: Calcium information
for health care providers.
Rockville, MD: National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development.
This document, which is geared toward
health professionals who serve children,
adolescents, and families, provides
information about the amount of calcium
required during childhood and adolescence,
and how to get it.
- Story M, Holt K, Sofka
D, eds. 2002. Bright
Futures in practice: Nutrition, 2nd
ed. Arlington,
VA: National
Center for Education in Maternal and
Child Health (NCEMCH).
This book presents nutrition guidelines
and tools emphasizing health promotion,
disease prevention, and early recognition
of nutrition issues and concerns related
to infants, children, and adolescents. Bright
Futures in practice: Nutrition pocket
guide (2002)
is a quick reference tool for the comprehensive
nutrition practice guide. The pocket
guide highlights key aspects of each
developmental period and includes tools
such as indicators of nutrition risk
and tips for promoting food safety.
Also see Bright
Futures nutrition: Family fact sheets (2002).
- White House Task Force on Childhood
Obesity. 2010. Solving
the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation:
Report to the President. Washington, DC:
Executive Office of the President of the United
States. This report describes the problem of
child and adolescent obesity, recommends steps
to address the problem, and outlines benchmarks
of success. Recommendations focus on the early
childhood period, empowering parents and caregivers,
providing healthy food in schools, improving
access to healthy, affordable foods, and increasing
physical activity.
The databases listed below are excellent tools for identifying data, additional literature and research, and programs about child and adolescent nutrition. Many of the entries below contain tips on how to use the databases efficiently. Please note that databases vary in how terms should be entered; for example, some require quotation marks and others don't. Enter search phrases as shown in bold below.
- Child
Trends DataBank.
Reports on national trends and
research on over 80 key indicators
of child and adolescent well-being,
and offers information about the
types of programs and interventions
that may influence particular outcomes.
Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
research organization providing
research and data to inform decision-making
that affects children and adolescents.
Recent analyses about child and
adolescent nutrition include
Food insecurity and overweight among infants and toddlers: New insights into a troubling linkage. (2007).
- Data2010:
The Healthy People 2010 Database.
Contains the most recent monitoring
data for tracking Healthy
People 2010.
To obtain data on the topic, click
on the field, Data by Focus Area.
Under the field, Select a Focus
Area, choose 19 -- Nutrition and
Overweight from the pop-up menu.
Next, click on the button for Include
Related Objectives From Other Focus
Areas in the Table. Click on the
Submit button. For foodborne-illness
data, click on the field, Data
by Focus Area. Under the field,
Select a Focus Area, choose 10
-- Food Safety from the pop-up
menu. Next, click on the button
for Include Related Objectives
From Other Focus Areas in the Table.
Click on the Submit button. This
data set is provided by the National
Center for Health Statistics via CDC
Wonder.
- National
Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES).
Provides data sets, survey results,
and other documentation about the
health and nutrition of the U.S.
population. NHANES is a product
of the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
- National
Nutrient Database for Standard
Reference.
Lists nutrients for more than 7,500
food items. Includes a portion-modifier
option. The database is a service
of the Nutrient
Data Laboratory (NDL) at
the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS).
NDL also offers reports about single
nutrients and the nutritive value
of foods; measurement-conversion
tables; food-composition publications;
and journal articles.
- Pediatric
Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS).
Monitors the nutritional status
of children from birth to age 5
who are enrolled in federally funded
MCH programs, such as the Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC), the Early and
Periodic Screening, Diagnostic,
and Treatment (EPSDT) Program,
the Title V Maternal and Child
Health Program, and Head Start.
Data on birthweight, short stature,
underweight, overweight, anemia,
and breastfeeding are collected
for children who visit public health
clinics for routine care, nutrition
education, and supplemental foods.
PedNSS is administered by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
- Title
V Information System (Title V IS).
Contains data from annual Title
V Block Grant applications and
reports submitted by all 59 U.S.
states and jurisdictions. To learn
about states' efforts to address
child and adolescent nutrition,
conduct two searches. Select Measurement
and Indicator Data and go to the
State Data section. First, select
State Priority Needs Keyword Search
and choose Keyword: Nutrition/Physical
Activity and Population: Children
(1 through 21). Click on Start
Search to get your results. Next,
return to Measurement
and Indicator Data and select State Performance
Measures. Click on Search by Keyword/Population.
Select Keyword: Nutrition/Physical
Activity and Population: Children
(1 through 21). Click on Start
Search to get your results. Title
V IS is a service of the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System
(YRBSS): Youth Online.
Provides comprehensive results
from the YRBSS that can be viewed
by location (United States, state/territory,
or local) and health topic, including
dietary behaviors. Categories can
be compared online. Youth Online
is a service of CDC's Division
of Adolescent and School Health
(DASH).
- Also see the National
Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP):
Data Tools, National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),
and the School
Health Policies and Programs Study
(SHPPS).
- AGRICOLA
(AGRICultural OnLine Access).
Contains bibliographic information
for agricultural literature including
many child and adolescent nutrition
publications from the USDA's Food
and Nutrition Service; state child
nutrition agencies; Nutrition Education
and Training Program products;
Team Nutrition grantees; cooperative
extension program materials; and
materials from associations, universities,
and the private sector. AGRICOLA
is organized into two data sets
(books and journal articles). To
identify books and articles on
the topic, click on Keyword Search.
Enter the terms, children adolescents and
select
"any of these" and "Subject"
in the two fields to the right. Click "And".
In the next row, enter nutrition.
Click on
"Set Limits" to narrow your search
(e.g., add a publication date limit).
Use the thesaurus to
identify additional search terms for
this search or related searches. AGRICOLA
is a service of the National
Agricultural Library (NAL).
- Database
of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects
(DARE).
Contains summaries of systematic
reviews that have met strict quality
criteria. Included reviews must
be about the effects of interventions.
Each summary also provides a critical
commentary on the quality of the
review. The database covers a broad
range of health topics, including
nutrition. To identify summaries
on the topic, type nutrition
AND (child or adolescent) in
the search box. Click on Search
to get your results. DARE is produced
and maintained by the Centre
for Reviews and Dissemination at
the University of York.
- Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC) Databases.
Presents a collection of databases
about evaluated food and nutrition
education and training materials
and research. The databases are
Food Safety Research Information Office Research Projects Database
Food Stamp Nutrition Connection Resource Finder Database
Healthy Meals Resource System Education and Training Materials Database
International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) Database
- HP2010
Information Access Project (HP2010
IAC).
Provides an automatic search mechanism
for published literature indexed
in PubMed related
to the Healthy
People 2010 objectives
about nutrition
and overweight and food
safety.
Also links to a narrative for each
objective and the complete chapters
about nutrition and overweight
and food safety in the text, Healthy
People 2010: Understanding and
improving health, 2nd ed. (2000).
This service is provided by the Partners
in Information Access for the Public
Health Workforce,
a collaboration of federal agencies,
public health organizations, and
health sciences libraries.
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
several databases to collect, manage,
and disseminate knowledge about
MCH, with special emphasis on knowledge
gained from initiatives and programs
supported by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
The library's bibliographic database
is
MCHLine®. Comprises an online catalog of materials in the Maternal and Child Health Library. See the bibliography, Childhood nutrition, for a selection of library materials on the topic. To identify nutrition materials about adolescents, type "adolescent nutrition" in the keyword field of the database search form. Enter a publication date or date range to narrow your search.
The Maternal and Child Health Library also offers organizations and programs databases.
- National
Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC).
Contains evidence-based clinical
practice guidelines and related
materials for health professionals.
Identify guidelines by selecting
Detailed Search in the Search box.
Enter nutrition in the Keyword
field. Scroll down on the search
form to select Age of Target Population
(e.g., Adolescent, Child, Infant).
Hold down the control key (ctrl)
or Apple command key and click
your mouse to make multiple selections.
The database is an initiative of
the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
- PubMed.
Contains over 19 million citations
for biomedical articles from MEDLINE
and life science journals. Citations
may include links to full-text articles
from PubMed
Central or publisher Web sites. To identify articles on the topic, enter the
term nutrition in the search box. Click on Limits and make the
following selections on the page: select a date (e.g. Published in the last 2
years); click on Languages: English; click on Species: Humans; click on Ages:
All Child; and select Search Field Tags: MeSH Major Topic. Click on Search to
get your results. To narrow your search further or for additional searches, use
the MeSH (Medical
Subject
Headings) database to identify terms (e.g., nutrition AND food preferences, nutrition AND health
education). PubMed is a service
of the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- Also see Action
for Healthy Kids,
the Center
on Media and Child Health (CMCH),
the Education
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database,
the School Health
Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), and the School Health
Resource Database.
- Health
Services Research Projects in Progress
(HSRProj).
Provides information about ongoing
health services research and public
health projects. To identify projects
on the topic, enter the search
phrase nutrition AND (child
OR adolescent). Click on Search
to get your results. HSRProj is
funded by the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
two databases to identify nutrition-related
organizations and programs:
MCH Organizations Database. Lists over 2,000 government, professional, and voluntary organizations involved in MCH activities, primarily at a national level. Nutrition-related organizations appear in a list produced from the database.
MCH Projects Database. Comprises an online catalog of projects funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through October 1, 2002. MCHB funds several projects about child and adolescent nutrition. To identify them, go to the database search form. Type nutrition in the Abstract field. Final reports are available from several of these projects.
- Shaping
America's Youth (SAY) Program Registry.
Includes information on intervention
programs throughout the United
States that are working to improve
nutrition and physical activity
in children and adolescents. Search
by program name, keyword, organization,
state, and category (e.g., programs
addressing child nutrition). SAY
is a national joint public- and
private-sector initiative to identify
and centralize efforts currently
under way across the United States
to reverse the rapidly increasing
prevalence of overweight and inactivity
among children and adolescents.
- State
Legislative Information.
Contains summaries of state legislative
bills related to nutrition and
physical activity from 2001 to
the present. Links are provided
to each state legislature site
where the full-text version of
the bill is available. This database
is presented by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
- Also see Action
for Healthy Kids and Making
It Happen! School Nutrition Success
Stories.
Electronic Newsletters and Online Discussion Groups
- Children's
Nutrition Research Center (CNRC):
Nutrition and Your Child.
This quarterly electronic newsletter
offers research-based information
to those interested in the nutritional
care and feeding of infants, children,
and adolescents.
- Food
and Nutrition Information Center:
Electronic Discussion Groups on
Food and Nutrition Issues.
This annotated list links to electronic
discussion groups about child care
and school food service; food stamps;
general food and nutrition topics;
and health and physical activity.
- Food
Research and Action Center (FRAC)
News Digest.
This weekly electronic newsletter
highlights news about hunger, nutrition,
and poverty.
- See the Maternal and Child Health Library's family resource brief, Nutrition in Kids and Teens.
Resources on Specific Aspects of Nutrition
Child
Care/Early Childhood Education
Food
Marketing to Children
Food
Safety
Food
Security and Nutrition Assistance Programs
School-Based
Nutrition Education and Food Service
Child Care/Early Childhood Education
- FitSource:
A Web Directory for Providers.
Presents a set of links to resources
for child care and after-school
program professionals to help them
incorporate physical activity and
nutrition into their programs.
Resources include activities, lesson
plans, healthy recipes, information
for parents, and other downloadable
tools. FitSource is presented by
the National
Child Care Information Center (NCCIC).
- Healthy
Meals Resource System (HMRS): Child
Care Providers.
Contains training materials, news,
recipes, and other resources for
child care providers about planning
and preparing nutritious meals
and food safety. The Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC) developed
HMRS as the training and technical-assistance
component of Team
Nutrition.
- Benjamin SE, ed. 2007. Making
food healthy and safe for children:
How to meet the national health and
safety performance standards. Guidelines
for out-of-home child care programs,
2nd ed.
Chapel Hill, NC: National
Training Institute for Child Care
Health Consultants.
This manual for child care providers
offers guidance for providing children
with healthy and safe food and for
meeting national nutrition standards.
- Healthy
Eating Research.
2007. Promoting
good nutrition and physical activity
in child-care settings.
Minneapolis, MN: Healthy Eating Research.
This brief presents an overview of
research that examines the nutritional
quality of meals and snacks, opportunities
for physical activity, and the outcomes
of interventions designed to prevent
overweight and obesity in child care
settings.
- National
Head Start Training and Technical
Assistance Resource Center.
2006. Physically
healthy and ready to learn.
Washington, DC: National Head Start
Training and Technical Assistance
Resource Center. This technical-assistance
paper offers guidance to Head Start
programs regarding the implementation
of Head Start program performance
standards related to child health
and developmental services, child
health and safety, and child nutrition.
- Also see AGRICOLA.
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Media
Matters Campaign.
Contains information and program
materials about this effort to
help pediatricians, parents, and
children become more aware of the
influence that media has on child
and adolescent health, including
nutrition.
- Center
for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI): Decrease Marketing of Low-Nutrition
Foods to Children.
Offers articles and reports about
improving child and adolescent
nutrition by decreasing the marketing
of low-nutrition foods to children.
- Center
on Media and Child Health (CMCH).
Offers an online database of
research articles examining the
relationship between media exposure
and health-risk behaviors, including
poor nutrition. To identify articles
on the topic, type nutrition in
the Words field. Narrow your search
by adding a publication date or
age group. CMCH is a joint project
of Children's Hospital Boston,
Harvard Medical School, and the
Harvard School of Public Health.
- Media-Smart
Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active! Offers
a Web-based health-promotion program
designed to help young adolescents
(ages 11 to 13) become aware of
how media may influence their nutrition
and physical activity choices.
A variety of activities encourage
participants to make healthy snack
choices. Each lesson includes a
snack break during which adolescents
learn to make a nutritious snack
and receive a recipe to take home
and share with their families.
This after-school program was developed
by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD).
- Mikkelsen L, Merlo
C, Lee V, Chao C. 2007. Where's
the fruit? Fruit content of the most
highly-advertised children's food and
beverages. Oakland, CA: Prevention
Institute. This report describes
a study to determine whether indications
of fruit on the packaging of the most
heavily marketed products to children
represents actual fruit in the product.
In response, the Strategic Alliance
Promoting Healthy Food and Activity
Environments, of which the Prevention
Institute is a part issued Setting
the bar: Recommendations for food and
beverage industry action (2007).
A follow-up report, When
will there be fruit? One year later:
Fruit content of the most highly-advertised
children's foods and beverages (2008)
describes a re-examination of the food
products in the initial study to determine
if any significant changes have been
made to the packaging or ingredients.
- McGinnis JM, Gootman
JA, Kraak VI, eds. 2006. Food
marketing to children and youth: Threat
or opportunity? Washington,
DC: National
Academies Press.
This book reviews scientific studies
designed to assess the influence of
marketing on the nutritional beliefs,
choices, practices, and outcomes of
children and adolescents.
- Program
for the Study of Entertainment Media
and Health.
2007. Food
for thought: Television food advertising
to children in the United States.
Menlo Park, CA: Henry
J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
This report combines content analysis
of TV advertisements with detailed
data about children's viewing habits
to provide an estimate of the number
and type of TV advertisements seen
by children of various ages. The
report is intended to help policymakers,
advocates, and those in the food
industry understand the nature and
scope of the online environment children
face. Accompanying the report is
a Webcast of a roundtable discussion
featuring food-industry leaders,
government health officials, and
consumer advocates.
- Weiss S. 2007. Adolescent
exposure to food advertising on television:
Research highlight.
Princeton, NJ: Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
This brief describes research examining
food advertising exposure and the
nutritional content of the foods
advertised on programs viewed by
adolescents ages 12-17.
- Also see the report, National
survey of the types and extent of
the marketing of foods of minimal
nutritional value in schools (2006).
- American
Dietetic Association (ADA): Home
Food Safety ... It's in Your Hands™.
Offers tips, teaching tools, Spanish-language
materials, statistics, and other
resources about foodborne illness
and safe food handling at home.
- Center
for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI): Food Safety.
Offers articles, reports, consumer
tips, outbreak alerts, and model
legislation about food safety.
- Fight
Bac! Presents
information and materials about
safe food handling practices needed
to keep food safe from bacteria
and prevent foodborne illness.
Fight Bac! is an initiative of
the Partnership
for Food Safety Education (PFSE).
- Food
Safety Information Center (FSIC).
Offers information about food safety
to health and education professionals,
consumers, and the food industry.
Topics include pathogens and contaminants,
sanitation and quality standards,
emergency preparedness and management,
food preparation and handling,
and food processing and technology.
FSIC is a service of the National
Agricultural Library (NAL).
- www.FoodSafety.gov.
Links to selected government food-safety-related
information, including food safety
alerts and recalls.
- Becker GS, Porter DV.
2007. Federal
food safety system: A primer.
Washington, DC: Congressional Research
Service. This report presents an overview
of the federal food safety system and
the debate over whether reorganization
is needed.
- Institute
of Medicine (IOM),
Forum on Microbial Threats. 2006. Addressing
foodborne threats to health: Policies,
practices, and global coordination.
Workshop summary.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This report summarizes a workshop
convened to examine issues critical
to the protection of the nation's
food supply. Workshop participants
discussed the threat spectrum and
burden of disease associated with
foodborne illness and the role that
increasing globalization of food
production and distribution plays
in the transmission of foodborne
disease. Participants also reviewed
existing research, policies, and
practices concerning foodborne threats
to identify unmet needs, challenges,
and opportunities for improving food-safety
systems, surveillance, and emergency
response.
- Nesheim MC, Yaktine
AL., eds. 2006. Seafood
choices: Balancing benefits and risks.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This report reviews the evidence on
the benefits and risks associated with
seafood consumption and recommends
ways to guide U.S. consumers in making
seafood selections to meet their needs,
including the needs of pregnant women
and children.
- World
Health Organization (WHO), Department
of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne
Diseases (FOS). 2006. Five
keys to safer food manual. Geneva,
Switzerland: World
Health Organization (WHO). This
training manual addresses the five
steps to keeping food safe.
- See Healthy
People 2010 and
the Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC) Databases.
Food Security and Nutrition Assistance Programs
- Children's
Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program
(C-SNAP).
Presents reports and articles about
the effect of U.S. social policy
on the health and nutrition of
infants and children from birth
to age 3 from families with low
incomes. C-SNAP is a non-partisan
research and public policy center
led by a national network of pediatricians
and public health researchers.
Recent publications include
Food stamps as medicine: A new perspective on children's health. (2007).
Impact of food insecurity on the development of young low-income Black and Latino children. (2006). and Protecting the health and nutrition of young children of color: The impact of nutrition assistance and income support programs. (2006). [Note: These two reports are presented in one downloadable file].
- Economic
Research Service (ERS).
Contains economic information and
research on topics that include
diet, health, safety, and food-and-nutrition-assistance
programs. Recent publications include
Could behavioral economics help improve diet quality for nutrition assistance program participants? (2007).
Effects of WIC and food stamp program participation on child outcomes. (2006).
Household food security in the United States, 2006. (2006).
Parental time, role strain, and children's fat intake and obesity-related outcomes. (2006).
Profiles of participants in the National School Lunch Program: Data from two national surveys (2006).
- Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Contains program information and
resources about its nutrition-assistance
programs, including the Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC),
the School
Meals Program,
and the Summer
Food Service Program.
Recent publications and initiatives
include
Loving Your Family Feeding Their Future: Nutrition Education Through the Food Stamp Program. Provides educational and promotional materials and techniques to help nutrition educators in their work with Food Stamp Program (FSP) participants and eligibles.
Report to Congress: USDA's simplified Summer Food Program, 2001-2006. (2007).
School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study III: Summary of findings. (2007).
Also see FNS' Team Nutrition.
- Food
Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Contains news, legislative information,
research, and program information
and materials about hunger and
federal food assistance programs.
FRAC advocates at the national,
state, and local level for more
effective public and private policies
to eradicate domestic hunger and
undernutrition. In addition to
an electronic
newsletter, recent publications
include
2007 state of the states: A profile of food and nutrition programs across the nation. (2007).
Hunger doesn't take a vacation: Summer nutrition status report 2007. (2007).
School breakfast scorecard 2006. (2006).
School wellness policy and practice: Meeting the needs of low-income students. (2006).
- National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP): Data Tools.
Offers several databases containing
national and state statistics on
the income status, education level,
family structure, and employment
status of families and children;
information about state and federal
policies that assist families and
children with low incomes, such
as nutrition-assistance programs;
a family resource simulator that
simulates the impact of federal
and state work-support benefits
on the budgets of families with
low to moderate incomes, and an
income converter.
- Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC).
Contains program information and
data, eligibility criteria, publications,
and state agency contact information
for this program that serves to
safeguard the health of low-income
pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding
postpartum women, infants, and
children from birth to age 5 who
are at nutritional risk by providing
nutritious foods to supplement
diets, information on healthy eating,
and referrals to health care. WIC
is administered by the USDA's Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS).
- WIC
Works Resource System. Contains
nutrition service tools for health
and nutrition professionals serving
in WIC. Resources include an online
training course, an educational
and training materials database,
WIC-related reports and program
information, and state WIC agency
materials. WIC Works is a joint
project between the Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC),
the Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS),
and the University of Maryland.
- Armour BS, Pitts MM,
Lee C. 2007. Cigarette
smoking and food insecurity among low-income
families in the United States, 2001.
Atlanta, GA: Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
This paper examines the association
between food insecurity and smoking
among families with low incomes.
- Carasso A, Steuerle
CE, Reynolds G. 2007. Kids'
share 2007: How children fare in the
federal budget.
Washington, DC: Urban
Institute.
This report tracks federal spending
from 1960 to 2006 and uses current
policy and some assumptions to project
activity through 2017. The report looks
at more than 100 major programs that
aim to improve children's lives through
income security, health care, social
services, food and nutritional aid,
housing, education, training, and tax
credits and exemptions for their families.
- Institute
of Medicine.
2006. WIC
food packages: Time for a change.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This report is based on the work
of a committee formed to evaluate
WIC food packages (the list of specific
foods WIC participants obtain each
month). The report proposes changes
to the food packages to improve the
quality of the diet of WIC participants
while also promoting a healthy body
weight that will reduce the risk
of chronic diseases.
- O'Brien DL, Aldeen
HT. 2006. Hunger
in America: A report on emergency food
distribution in the United States in
2005. Chicago,
IL: America's
Second Harvest Network.
This report profiles the incidence
and nature of hunger and food insecurity
in the United States.
- Also see Healthy
People 2010,
the Child
Trends DataBank,
the Pediatric
Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS), AGRICOLA ,
and the Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC) Databases.
School-Based Nutrition Education and Food Service
- Action
for Healthy Kids (AFHK).
Offers tools and resources for
policymakers, educators, and researchers
to help support positive changes
in child and adolescent nutrition
and physical activity in the school
environment. Composed of 51 state
teams and a national coordinating
and resource group, this nationwide
initiative receives guidance and
direction from more than 50 national
organizations and government agencies
representing education, health,
nutrition, and physical activity.
Resources include
Resources to Improve Schools. Offers profiles of successful school-based interventions, programs, and practices that improve child and adolescent health and readiness to learn through better nutrition and physical activity. Also offers nutrition and physical activity materials such as articles, assessment tools, fact sheets, curricula, policies, guidelines, and links to Web sites.
Wellness Policy Tool. Presents an online tool for developing a local school wellness policy. The tool outlines a series of steps with objectives, resources, and answers to frequently asked questions about developing, implementing, and evaluating a wellness policy that meets a local school district's unique goals for nutrition and physical activity.
- CDC's
Division of Adolescent and School
Health (DASH): Nutrition.
Contains data, science-based strategies,
policy guidance, and information
about national, state, and local
programs to improve nutrition education
and school meals. Resources and
initiatives include
Making It Happen! School Nutrition Success Stories. Comprises an online database of schools and school districts that have implemented innovative strategies to improve the nutritional quality of foods and beverages sold outside federal meal programs. Search the database by nutrition strategy, state, and grade level.
Nutrition and the health of young people, rev. ed. (2007).
School Health Index. Contains a self-assessment and planning tool that schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs, including those related to nutrition.
School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS). Presents information about this national survey conducted every 6 years to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS was most recently conducted in 2006. Downloadable fact sheets, journal articles, and state-level summaries present SHPPS results. Data files, survey documentation, and archives are also available. See topic-specific fact sheets about food safety, food and beverages sold outside school meal programs, and nutrition.
Also see DASH's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).
- Center
for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI): Improve School Foods.
Presents articles, fact sheets,
model materials and policies, and
examples of what some states and
communities are doing to improve
school foods and beverages.
- Education
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database.
Presents information about journal
articles, research reports, teaching
guides, curricula, conference papers,
and books covering all aspects
of education-related issues. To
identify resources on the topic,
click on Advanced Search. Type nutrition in
the Search Term(s) box. Scroll
down to the Publication Date field
to select a date range. Click on
the Search button to get your results.
Use the ERIC
Thesaurus to
identify additional search terms
for this search or related searches.
ERIC is sponsored by the Department
of Education.
- KidsHealth
in the Classroom.
Offers health curriculum materials
about nutrition for students in
preschool through high school.
The guides include discussion questions,
activities, and handouts. Enter nutrition in
the search box to get the guides
and supporting materials. KidsHealth
is a service of the Nemours Foundation.
- National
Farm to School Program.
Presents program and funding information,
news, discussion forums, and publications
about connecting schools with local
farms to serve healthy meals in
school cafeterias, improve student
nutrition, provide nutrition education,
and support local small farmers.
The National Farm to School Program
is a collaborative initiative of
the Center
for Food & Justice (CFJ) and
the Community
Food Security Coalition (CFSC).
- National
School Boards Association (NSBA):
School Health Resource Database.
Comprises an online catalog of
sample policies, articles, and
training tools that address the
many health issues facing local
school districts. Select Nutrition/Healthy
Eating or Food Safety/Food Allergies
from the list of topics for an
automatic search of the database.
NSBA also offers Healthy
Eating 101,
an information packet containing
background on nutrition and childhood
obesity, dietary guidelines and
tools to promote healthy eating,
and policy development strategies
and success stories to improve
the school nutrition environment
and promote wellness. Food
Allergies and Food Safety 101 contains
information on foodborne illness
and outbreaks and guidance for
establishing safe-food school programs
and policies.
- School
Nutrition Association (SNA).
Contains resources for school food
service personnel and educators
about child and adolescent nutrition
and school food service operations,
including tools for developing
and implementing local school wellness
policies, online courses, research
reports and articles, and food
topics in the news. Resources include
Keys to Excellence. Presents an online assessment tool that identifies the elements of a quality school nutrition program, assesses program quality, and tracks progress in developing and implementing improvement plans.
- Team
Nutrition.
Provides schools with nutrition-education
materials for children and families;
technical-assistance materials
for school food service directors,
managers, and staff; and materials
to build school and community support
for healthy eating and physical
activity. Team Nutrition is an
initiative of the USDA's Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Initiatives include
Healthy School Meals Resource System (HSMRS). Contains resources for school food service and child care professionals, including education and training materials, reports, recipes and menus, and food-safety information.
- Briggs M. 2004. Roadmap:
Rethinking school lunch guide.
Berkeley, CA: Learning
in the Real World, Center for Ecoliteracy.
This guide provides a planning framework
that contains tools and creative
solutions to the challenges of improving
school lunch programs, academic performance,
ecological knowledge, and the well-being
of children.
- Fletcher A. 2007. Healthy
behaviors for children and families:
Developing exemplary practices in
nutrition, physical activity and
food security in afterschool programs.
Sacramento, CA: Center
for Collaborative Solutions.
This guide is designed to help after-school
program leaders and their colleagues
combat overweight and obesity among
children and adolescents. The guide
outlines six practices and indicator
rubrics about nutrition, physical
activity, and food security that
programs can use for assessment and
improvement.
- Hall G, Gruber D. 2006. Healthy
choices afterschool: Investigation
of the alignment of physical activity
and nutrition programs/curricula
and the National Afterschool Association
Program Standards.
Wellesley, MA: National
Institute on Out-Of-School Time (NIOST).
This report profiles 20 afterschool
programs that offer physical activity
and nutrition as part of their curricula.
The report offers an analysis of
how each program addresses the National
Afterschool Association Program Standards.
- Larson N, Story M.
2007. School
foods sold outside of meals (competitive
foods).
Minneapolis, MN: Healthy
Eating Research.
This brief presents an overview of
research about foods outside the federal
meals program that are sold in schools.
- Molnar
A, Garcia DR, Boninger F, Merrill B.
2006. National
survey of the types and extent of the
marketing of foods of minimal nutritional
value in schools.
Tempe, AZ: Arizona
State University College of Education.
This national survey of public school
officials finds that advertising in
schools is pervasive, that it is dominated
by corporations that sell foods of
minimal nutritional value and foods
high in fat and sugar, that schools
make little money from their participation
in advertising, and that most schools'
programs would not be reduced if advertising
were eliminated.
- National
Alliance for Nutrition and Activity
(NANA).
2005. Model
local school wellness policies on
physical activity and nutrition.
Washington, DC: National Alliance
for Nutrition and Activity. This
set of model nutrition and physical
activity policies aims to provide
guidance to local school districts
on promoting nutrition and physical
activity and addressing overweight
in children and adolescents. The
policies were developed in response
to requests for guidance in meeting
the new federal requirements of the
Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization
Act of 2004. The policies are based
on nutrition science, public health
research, and existing practices
from exemplary states and local school
districts around the county. Links
to additional resources are also
provided, along with information
on using the model policies, self-assessment
and planning tools, and a list of
supporting organizations.
- Samuels and Associates,
California Project LEAN, the Partnership
for the Public’s Health, and
the Center for Weight and Health. 2007. Key
lessons from California schools working
to change school food environments.
Los Angeles, CA: California
Endowment. This brief describes
the issues, achievements, challenges,
and solutions related to working to
make healthy eating part of the daily
lives of California children while
they are in school. It is based on
the experience of California public
health, nutrition and research professionals.
- Stallings VA, Yaktine
AL, eds. 2007. Nutrition
standards for foods in schools: Leading
the way toward healthier youth.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This report reviews and recommends
nutrition standards and guidance for
the sale, content, and consumption
of foods and beverages at school, with
attention given to foods and beverages
offered in competition with federally
reimbursable meals and snacks.
- Taras H, Duncan P,
Luckenbill D, Robinson J, Wheeler L,
Wooley S, eds. 2004. Health,
mental health and safety guidelines
for schools.
Elk Grove Village, IL: American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP);
Castle Rock, CO: National
Association of School Nurses (NASN).
This compendium is designed to help
community and school leaders determine
the breadth of school health, mental
health, and safety issues and set priorities
for future action. The compendium was
developed by health, education, and
safety professionals from more than
30 different national organizations;
parents; and other collaborators, with
support from the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
The compendium draws upon published
guidelines on specific components of
school health and safety programs and
on overall coordination of these programs.
Topics include nutrition and food services.
- Please note: Several
reports by the USDA's Economic
Research Service (ERS) and Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS) address
school meal programs.
- Also see the Children's
Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), Healthy
People 2010, AGRICOLA,
the Food
and Nutrition Information Center
(FNIC) Databases,
and the Food
Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Nutrition in Children and Adolescents:
Knowledge Path, 5th ed. (April 2008). (Updated: July
2010).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo,
M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.
Reviewers: Meredith Bruening, R.D., Leadership
Education and Training Program in MCH Nutrition
at the University of Minnesota, School
of Public Health; Stephanie Heim, Leadership
Education and Training Program in MCH Nutrition
at the University of Minnesota, School
of Public Health; Olivia Pickett, M.A.,
M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library;
Jane Mitchell Rees, Ph.D., R.D., C.D.,
Maternal Child Health Program and Adolescent
Medicine Section at the University of Washington
School of Public Health and Community Medicine;
Jamie Stang, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., University
of Minnesota, School of Public Health;
Bridget L. Wardley, M.S., R.D., Department
of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health,
New York University.
