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Nutrition

Journal Article
What Is Associated with Changes in Food Security Among Low-Income Residents of a Former Food Desert?
We compared study participants in a former food desert neighborhood whose food security improved to those whose food security did not improve across survey waves. Distance to major food shopping store was positively associated with food security.
May 16, 2023
Journal Article
Associations of a National Tax on Non-Essential High Calorie Foods with Changes in Consumer Prices
This study evaluates the price effect of Mexico's tax on high calorie non-essential foods and shows that prices of taxed foods increased soon after the tax and that higher price persisted for at least two years.
Sep 15, 2022
Journal Article
Improving Diet Quality in U.S. Adults: A 30-Year Health and Economic Impact Microsimulation
Microsimulation (Future Adult Model) predicted 30-year improved diet quality impacts across 12 demographic groups. Diet improvement reduced prevalence of heart disease by 7.6% to 13.8% across groups and reduced healthcare costs by $10B in year 30.
Jul 12, 2022
Journal Article
Diet Quality Improvement and 30-Year Population Health and Economic Outcomes: A Microsimulation Study
Microsimulation (Future Adult Model) predicted 30-year US population changes from improved diet quality. Diet improvement reduced prevalence of diabetes, heart disease and stroke by 11%, 7%, and 10%, and reduced healthcare costs by $144B in year 30.
Jul 12, 2022
Journal Article
Diet Quality in the United States Improved During the Great Recession and Deteriorated During Economic Recovery
During the Great Recession, American diets became more consistent with Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations, possibly because of a shift toward food prepared at home instead of prepared food bought away from home.
Jul 7, 2022
News Release
Strengthening School Lunch Nutritional Standards May Help Improve Obesity Outlook for Low-Income Children
Regulations that strengthened the nutritional requirements for school lunches were associated with a decline in signs of obesity among school children in kindergarten through 5th grade who participated in free or reduced-price lunch programs.
May 5, 2022
Report
Impacts of Marine Corps Body Composition and Military Appearance Program (BCMAP) Standards on Individual Outcomes and Talent Management
Researchers examine how the U.S. Marine Corps' Body Composition and Military Appearance Program and its associated policies drive individual behavior -- namely those related to disordered eating -- of marines and specifically of women and people of color.
Mar 28, 2022
Commentary
Inequitable Marine Corps Body Composition Policies and Their Effect on Health
The Marine Corps Body Composition and Military Appearance Program is potentially harming Marines. The Marine Corps should consider pausing the policy while it further examines its effects on individual health and considers developing a new health-focused policy that includes requirements designed to reflect the diversity of the force.
Mar 25, 2022
Journal Article
Bittersweet: How Prices of Sugar-Rich Foods Contribute to the Diet-Related Disease Epidemic in Mexico
I provide new evidence on how price changes of nutritionally similar foods, such as those rich in sugar or fats, change obesity and diet-related diseases in the context of Mexico between 1996–2010.
Jan 13, 2022
Commentary
Why Are U.S. Veterans at Heightened Risk of Food Insecurity?
U.S. veterans are at great risk of food insecurity, but there is limited understanding of exactly how many veterans lack resources to attain adequate and nutritious food and why. If resources are to be directed more effectively, the United States needs better clarity into the magnitude of the problem.
Nov 24, 2021
Journal Article
Provision of School Meals Across the EU: An Overview of Rationales, Evidence, Facilitators and Barriers
This research for EPIC examines the available evidence behind the provision of free or subsidised meals to children via schools across the EU. It includes an overview of rationales, evidence, facilitators and barriers in their provision.
Oct 1, 2021
Journal Article
Longitudinal Associations Between Changes in Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Use, Eating Behavior, Perceived Stress, and Self-Rated Health in a Cohort of Low-Income Black Adults
We found significant longitudinal associations between smoking behavior and eating behavior, perceived stress, and self-rated health. This has implications for the development of behavior change programs and community-level interventions and policies.
Aug 27, 2021
Commentary
The Biden Administration's Chance to Improve SNAP and Nutrition Support
If policymakers were to make permanent the relaxed rules forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it could be a start to increased racial equity in SNAP. Given broad public support for SNAP, making benefits easier to access, particularly for those already eligible, could be a bipartisan priority.
May 19, 2021
Journal Article
SNAP Participants and High Levels of Food Insecurity in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic
We examined how people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly Black participants, and participants residing in food deserts.
Apr 2, 2021
Journal Article
Food Insecurity Is Associated with Objectively Measured Sleep Problems
Food Insecurity (FI) can be a profound source of stress, which may increase the risk for sleep disturbance. This is the first study to examine the association between FI and objectively and subjectively measured sleep.
Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article
School Food and Beverage Availability and Children's Diet, Purchasing, and Obesity: Evidence From a Natural Experiment
We examined whether the number of competitive food and beverage items available for purchase in school, overall and by type (unhealthy, healthy, neutral), was associated with in-school food purchases, dietary behaviors, and body mass index outcomes.
Mar 11, 2021
Journal Article
Food Insecurity in a Low-Income, Predominantly African American Cohort Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
Longitudinal data highlight profound inequities that have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Existing policies appear inadequate to address the widening gap.
Mar 11, 2021
Journal Article
Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet
Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.
Mar 11, 2021
Journal Article
Food Insecurity, Participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Degree to Which Patients Anticipate Help from Clinics to Find Food in Los Angeles County
Healthcare clinics are uniquely positioned to screen for food insecurity and refer patients to food resources. This is an exploratory analysis informing low-income clinics' efforts to intervene on food insecurity in their patient population.
Nov 25, 2020
Journal Article
Perceptions and Determinants of Healthy Eating for People with HIV in the Dominican Republic Who Experience Food Insecurity
PLHIV who experience food insecurity face various barriers to engaging in healthy dietary behaviours. Their diets are influenced at multiple levels of influence ranging from individual to structural, requiring multi-level interventions that can address these factors concurrently.
Oct 7, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Nutrition

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care

Researcher Spotlight

Kelly Hyde

Associate Economist

Kelly Hyde (he/him) is an applied microeconomist specializing in the intersections of environmental, health, and behavioral economics. He has studied biased responses to group-disaggregated information about health risks, the distributional impacts of water pollution in the United States, the…
Tamara Dubowitz

Senior Policy Researcher

Tamara Dubowitz (she/her) is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and faculty at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Trained in social epidemiology with concentrations in maternal and child health and public health nutrition, her research focuses on the role of place, or geography,…

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