Current Initiatives
Strategic Science on Schools, Families and Communities
The Rudd Center conducts scientific research to draw attention to the roles of schools, families, and communities in children's eating behaviors and childhood obesity. Decades of research on the treatment of adult obesity has demonstrated how difficult it is for people to lose weight and maintain weight loss over time. We believe that the best way to address the obesity epidemic is to change the environment by changing the foods that children are exposed to at home, in school, and in the community.
Our research studies aim to examine how the following factors influence children's eating behavior:
- Parental feeding practices
- Preschool and childcare nutrition policies
- National school lunch program policies
- School wellness policies
- The transition to college
Here are examples of some studies in progress:
Introducing novel vegetables to preschoolers. This study examines whether serving novel vegetables to preschoolers 10 times over several weeks increases their liking and consumption of these foods.
Macro-level Predictors of School Wellness Policies in Connecticut. This study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research Program, eamined the wellness policies of 150 Connecticut school districts during the 2006-2007 school year. We are coding the content and quality of these policies, looking for links to the sociodemographic characteristics of the school district and town.
Understanding preschool food policies: Predictors and consequences. This study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research Program, will develop a multi-method assessment toolkit to assess food policies and nutrition environment of child care and preschool settings.
Transition to college. This study examined the eating behaviors of a cohort of college freshman at three times: before arriving in the fall, once during the fall semester, and once in the spring semester -- to identify how student eating changed.
Student attitudes toward school food policies. This study examined how male and female high school students feel about different types of school nutrition policies.
Parental food rules. This project examines data from several samples on the relationship bewteen parental food rules and children’s later difficulties with eating, weight, and other psychopathology.