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Research for healthy food, people and places

The Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) envisions a world in which healthy food, beverages and opportunities for physical activity are accessible, affordable, equitable and sustainable for everyone.

NPI's mission is to conduct and translate policy-relevant research to transform environments for healthy children, families and communities.

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News

  • NPI submits comments on the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

    Feb 14, 2025

    Nutrition Policy Institute submitted a public comment on the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, advising adoption of the report's evidence-based recommendations into the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. This was in response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture's 60-day public comment period to collect public feedback on the Scientific Report. NPI's comment offered support of water being recommended as the primary beverage to optimize health, limiting saturated fat and added sugars to less than 10 percent of calories for Americans aged two years and older, including policy, systems, and environmental strategies to support Americans' adherence to the guidelines, and recommendations for the food industry and food retailers on reducing sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars in the food supply. Although the topic was not considered by the Advisory Committee, NPI also recommended promotion of environmentally sustainable dietary guidance, as several recommendations included in their Scientific Report do support both public and planetary health. Another public comment focused on drinking water was submitted by the National Drinking Water Alliance, which is coordinated by NPI. This comment was signed by 32 organizations and 41 leading researchers and key stakeholders.


  • New study evaluates costs of school-based water promotion program

    Feb 7, 2025

    A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides insights into the costs of implementing Water First, a school-based water promotion program shown to prevent overweight in children. Researchers analyzed the program's expenses from the school's perspective over one academic year in six San Francisco Bay Area public schools. The study found that the Water First program cost $20 per student for school-wide interventions—such as installing water stations and dispensers in cafeterias and high-traffic areas and a school-wide water promotion campaign—and $131 per student for classroom-level efforts—including students and teachers receiving reusable water bottles, lesson, and materials for school and home. When accounting for the long-term use of water stations, the annualized cost of the school-wide intervention dropped to $11 per student. These findings offer valuable guidance for schools and policymakers looking to invest in cost-effective strategies that improve student health by increasing access to drinking water. The study was conducted by researchers from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Stanford University, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Rush Medical College, University of California, San Francisco, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (awards K24HL169841 and R01HL129288).


  • NPI releases research brief on challenges of transitioning from free school meals for all students in Texas schools

    Feb 4, 2025

    A recent research brief developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute highlights the impact of the end of federal waivers on Texas school meal programs, allowing school meals to be served free of charge. During the transition away from federal waivers in the 2022-23 school year, NPI researchers surveyed 367 Texas food service directors and other food service personnel. Survey responses highlighted the significant challenges food service directors faced after the end of federal waivers, including reduced meal participation, financial instability, and operational concerns. School food authorities reported the need for financial assistance to support technical assistance and training, as well as operational improvements to make meals more appealing and engaging for both students and parents. Further, these findings emphasize the need for continued support from federal and state programs to help maintain effective school meal programs. This research was funded to evaluate California's Universal School Meals through CA SB 170 (2021), CA SB 154 (2022), and CA SB 101 (2023).


  • Top health experts release new drink recommendations for kids and teens’ overall health

    Jan 30, 2025

    Experts from leading health and nutrition organizations recommend kids and teens drink plain water, plain pasteurized milk, and limited amounts of 100% fruit and vegetable juice for optimal nutrition and hydration. Other beverages like plant-based milk alternatives and flavored milks should be limited, while sugar-sweetened beverages, beverages with non-sugar sweeteners, and beverages with caffeine or other stimulants should be avoided. These evidence-based recommendations were developed as part of a collaboration by experts from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association under the leadership of Healthy Eating Research and with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The same organizations convened in 2019 to release healthy beverage guidelines for 0- to 5-year-olds that are used by clinicians, registered dietitian nutritionists, dentists, public health departments, parents, and caregivers across the country. The full recommendations and accompanying technical report can be found at healthyeatingresearch.org. This site will also contain a set of infographics in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Tagalog covering different topics included in the recommendations, such as tips for swapping out drinks with added sugars, understanding caffeine levels in different drinks, and finding the right plant-based milk alternative for children who might be allergic to plain milk or who are vegan. Nutrition Policy Institute's Lorrene Ritchie participated in the expert panel that developed recommendations.


  • Study finds school-based water promotion programs impact children differently based on food insecurity

    Jan 29, 2025

    A recent study highlights how food insecurity may influence the effectiveness of school-based programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity by promoting water consumption and reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Researchers found the Water First program—which installed drinking water stations and promoted drinking water intake in 18 low-income San Francisco Bay Area elementary schools—prevented overweight and increased water intake among over 1,000 fourth-grade students involved in the study. However, a deeper examination of the data revealed that while obesity rates decreased among food-secure students, among food-insecure students there was an increased water intake without a reduction in obesity. Findings emphasize the need to consider food insecurity in future nutrition interventions and strategies. This study was led by Anisha Patel of the Stanford Department of Pediatrics; other members of the study team included  Lorrene Ritchie of the Nutrition Policy Institute; Leslie Gerstenfeld and Laura Schmidt of the University of California, San Francisco; Lauren Blacker of the RUSH University Medical College; Charles McCulloch of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine; and Valeria Ordonez of the Stanford Department of Pediatrics.


  • New study shows that long-term investments in community nutrition policies and programs supports healthy food access

    Jan 27, 2025

    A recent study highlights the importance of sustained investment in community nutrition programs and policies to improve healthy food access at home. Children get up to two-thirds of their food from home, making the availability of food in their household a key role in shaping their diets. Using data from the National Institutes of Health's Healthy Communities Study, researchers found neighborhoods with higher and more stable socioeconomic status over 10 years had greater home availability of healthy foods and lower rate of food insecurity. Additionally, greater exposure to nutrition-focused community programming and policies over 10 years was associated with greater home availability of healthy foods, though there was no relationship with food insecurity. Findings highlight the long-term benefits of consistent investment in such programs and policies, regardless of neighborhood socioeconomic status. Study researchers proposed that future actions to support improved food security and healthy food access should focus on addressing disparities in neighborhood socioeconomic status and investing in long-term, community-wide nutrition programs and policies. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was conducted by Ian-Marshall Lang from the School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Yeonwoo Kim of the Department of Kinesiology, University of Texas at Arlington, Lorrene Ritchie of the Nutrition Policy Institute, Lauren Au of the Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, and Natalie Colabianchi of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.


  • NPI releases CalFresh Healthy Living data briefs for federal fiscal year 2024

    Jan 23, 2025

    A new set of data briefs developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute showcases the impactful programming carried out by local health departments through CalFresh Healthy Living (California's SNAP-Ed program) during federal fiscal year 2024.

    • FFY 2024 CalFresh Healthy Living Program At a Glance: Learn more about the community context and overall reach of local health department's CalFresh Healthy Living programming in FFY 2024.
    • Policy, Systems, & Environmental Change Efforts: Learn about the audiences local health departments reached with policy, systems and environmental change—commonly known as PSE—efforts, as well as common settings and PSE approaches.
    • Educational Activities: Learn about the audiences local health departments reached with CalFresh Healthy Living education, as well as common settings and educational approaches.
    • Partnerships & Multi-Sector Coalitions: Learn about the ways local health departments engaged with community partners and multi-sector coalitions to support and sustain impactful CalFresh Healthy Living interventions.
    • Assessment of Policies, Practices, & Outcomes: Learn about the PSE practices in place at CalFresh Healthy Living sites as measured by site-level assessment questionnaires, behavioral outcomes of school-based interventions as evaluated via Impact Outcome Evaluation, and outcomes of direct education interventions with adults.

  • NPI researchers present at the 45th annual EcoFarm conference

    Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Kassandra Bacon and Ron Strochlic present with Hope Sippola of Spork Food Hub at the 2025 annual EcoFarm conference in Pacific Grove, CA. The conference will feature various interactive activities with the aim of "Bringing together farmers, ranchers, and food system workers to inspire each other, and to be the change that makes a difference." Kassandra and Ron will co-present in a workshop on January 23, 3:30-5 p.m. PT titled “Farm to Corrections: Empowering Incarcerated People and Supporting Growers.” The workshop will discuss recent successes, future plans, challenges, and market opportunities for growers based on the Farms to Corrections project.


  • Study on Navajo Nation identifies community involvement and cultural traditions as crucial in promoting drinking water access and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in young children

    Jan 21, 2025

    A 2024 paper describes ongoing community-based work to promote consumption of water in place of sugar-sweetened beverages, SSBs, on Navajo Nation. The Navajo community is disproportionately affected by water insecurity with 30% of households lacking reliable drinking water access. These households must get water from local water filling stations, water trucks, unregulated wells and springs, or by buying bottled water. Cost, compromised water safety, or distance from the water source make these options less than ideal. Water insecurity is known to be associated with greater SSB consumption.  Even in households with plumbed water, a myriad socio-environmental factors have made SSBs a beverage of choice. The Navajo community experiences high rates of diet-related chronic disease including childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes, which can be connected to high SSB consumption. In an early step, the research team gathered perspectives on water from community members of all ages. These revealed the deeply rooted cultural significance of water in connection to traditional spiritual and family values. The team formed the Water is K'é Community Advisory Group—which includes early education teachers, community activists, cultural experts, health promotion experts, parents, and Navajo elders—and an intervention to increase water consumption in young children was developed. The Diné (Navajo) word K'é refers to the “system of kinship observed between Diné people and all living things in existence,” in other words, among us all and also with water itself. The intervention included nutrition education that incorporates Diné culture by using and teaching Diné words and stories about water. This study also proposed that the focus on culture together with plans to increase water access tailored to individual situations would be effective in promoting healthy beverage habits in young Navajo children. The study was conducted by Carmen George, Brianna John, Rachel Whitman, Shine K. Salt, and Sonya S. Shin from the Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment Program, COPE, of Navajo Nation in collaboration with Ken Hecht and Christina Hecht from the Nutrition Policy Institute and Laura Vollmer from University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources and numerous community partners. It was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research and Notah Begay III Foundation. The intervention is now being tested thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health.


  • New study reveals an association between diet in the first year of life with select nutrient and ultra-processed food consumption in later childhood

    Jan 17, 2025

    A 2024 study analyzing the diets of over 4,300 infants in the United States using the Infant Diet Quality Index, also known as IDQI, revealed associations between diet quality from 0-12 months and select nutrient and ultra-processed food intake later when the children were 2-5 years old. Childhood diet has a strong influence on lifelong dietary habits. Nutrients of concern in the U.S. are vitamin D, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber. The study showed that at age two, the IDQI score was positively associated with dietary fiber and potassium intake. At age three, the IDQI score was positively associated with dietary fiber, potassium, and calcium intake. At ages four, and five, IDQI scores were positively associated with intake of these and other nutrients. At all ages, IDQI score was negatively associated with added sugars and ultra-processed food intake. The IDQI is a useful predictor of select nutrient intakes in children 2-5 years old. This study was led by Alana Chaney from the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with Lauren Au and Charles Arnold from the University of California, Davis, Lorrene Ritchie from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Edward Frongillo from the University of South Carolina, and Euridice Steele from the University of São Paulo. It was funded by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the University of California Office of the President Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fellowship.


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