Evaluating U.S. children's food purchases and caloric intake to gauge the food industry's impact on prevention of childhood obesity (Phase 3)
This grant supports Years 3 and 4 of an independent evaluation of the industry-led Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) initiative to reduce excess calories in consumer packaged goods (CPGs), including products consumed by U.S. children and adolescents, with special attention to low-income and high-risk racial/ethnic populations. The methods developed in Years 1 and 2 of this evaluation will enable the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others, for the first time, to track what CPGs children eat and how changes in those products impact children's diet and obesity levels. The methods, metrics and databases developed by the project team in Years 2 and 3 made it possible to identify and quantify the excess calories in CPG foods and beverages sold and purchased from 2007 (the baseline for HWCF's calorie-reduction pledge) through 2010. In Years 3 and 4, the project team will assess and publicly report whether and how HWCF companies achieved their pledged reduction of one trillion calories in products sold in 2012 compared with those sold in 2007. Deliverables will include: (1) engaging the project's evaluation advisory committee in reviewing evaluation planning, implementation and reporting; (2) refining all data collection and analytic methods and using them to evaluate HWCF's 2012 pledge; (3) planning and conducting Year 4 analyses and producing reports, which will incorporate National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to relate changes in the CPG food stream to the diet and body mass index levels of youths in diverse populations; and (4) presenting these methods and findings in multiple venues (conferences, scientific meetings, peer-reviewed publications) to ensure transparency and wide access.
Amount Awarded $3,200,000.00
Awarded on: 6/26/2012
Time frame: 7/1/2012 - 6/30/2014
Grant Number: 70017