Experiencing hunger can negatively impact a child's health, behavior and overall performance in school. Though substantial progress has been made to increase access to school foods, ensuring adequate time to eat remains to be a challenge for students and schools. We know there are some Colorado schools and districts promoting best practices around…

Considering over one-third of the United States' population is now considered obese, childhood obesity has become a highlighted public health concern. Educators and health professionals have spent a significant amount of time examining how to approach the obesity epidemic, specifically childhood obesity, yet there is still no clear solution. An…

Background: Although school nutrition policies (SNPs) have been highlighted as an important intervention to support childhood nutrition, their implementation and maintenance within real-word settings is complex. There is a need to understand the factors that influence implementation by consolidating existing research and identifying commonalities…

This year's "America's Children in Brief" continues a tradition of collaboration by agencies across the Federal Government to advance the understanding of what our Nation's children and families may need to help ensure bright, healthy futures. This year's report highlights selected special feature indicators related to COVID-19 to…

Families' social, demographic, and economic circumstances can have direct and indirect effects on children's development. Structural inequities in access to resources such as education, income, or food can promote disparities in children's health and school readiness. Similarly, children can face more or fewer barriers in their development…

Through reinforcement of policies and nutrition standards linked to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), school environments play an important role in preventing childhood obesity. The NSLP includes mandated nutrition standards that specify recommended servings of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, dairy and protein, as well as limits on…

Background: Despite small- and wide-scale prevention efforts to curb obesity, the percentage of children classified as overweight and obese has remained relatively consistent in the last decade. As school personnel are increasingly pressured to enhance student performance, many educators use food as a reward to motivate and reinforce positive…

Food assistance programs--including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program--have been remarkably successful at their core mission: reducing food insecurity among low-income children. Moreover, writes Craig Gundersen, SNAP in particular has also been…

The frequency of selective eating and nutritional deficiency was studied among 22 children with autism and an age matched typically developing control group. Children with autism ate fewer foods on average than typically developing children. (33.5 vs. 54.5 foods, P less than 0.001) As compared to typical controls, children with autism had a higher…

Michael Oppenheimer and Jesse Anttila-Hughes begin with a primer on how the greenhouse effect works, how we know that Earth is rapidly getting warmer, and how we know that the recent warming is caused by human activity. They explain the sources of scientific knowledge about climate change as well as the basis for the models scientists use to…

This article examines the socio-cultural significance of birthday cakes with the purpose of reflecting upon birthday cake practices enacted in four early childhood settings in England. I argue that birthday cakes occupy an ambiguous place in early childhood practice: seen to be both "risky"--a term I problematise--"and"…

There is much attention placed on closing the achievement gap among socioeconomically disadvantaged students. However, what some may fail to take into account is the impact of poor quality, low-nutrition foods and limited access to physical activity on children's academic outcomes. Disadvantaged youth are at risk for poor nutrition and limited…

Childhood obesity is a major public health challenge today, with complex roots interwoven into nearly every facet of American life. This poll addresses one narrow slice of this web: the challenges that families face during the "crunch time" of the work and school week, between 3 pm and the time children go to bed. Compared to the school day, this…

This article explores the research on the relationship between two particular aspects of poverty and school achievement. In particular, it examines research on food insecurity and oral healthcare among elementary-school-age children. The argument here is that these sorts of experiences of children in poverty account for some of the achievement…

The health of children in affluent economies has become closely tied to the ideal of a normative body weight achieved by monitoring and balancing diet and physical activity. As a result, the education of young people on how to avoid becoming fat begins at an early age through the language and practices of families, the messages embedded in…