Fruitful changes? Exploring household fruit purchase decisions following comprehensive food policy regulations in Chile.

Changes in unprocessed healthy food purchases associated with the implementation of comprehensive food policy remain understudied. This study analyzes whether, following the announcement, modification, and implementation of Chile's Food Labeling and Advertising law targeting highly processed food (occurring in 2012, 2015, and 2016, respectively), households improved their fruit purchase decisions: purchase participation (i.e., buying likelihood) and purchase quantity. Expenditure data from a representative sample of Chilean households were employed, covering two consecutive survey waves conducted in 2011/2012 and 2016/2017. After controlling for socioeconomic factors (e.g., prices and income), results indicate that only purchase participation increased, providing weak support for positive spillover effects of a comprehensive food policy on fruit purchases. Subsample analyses reveal that this increase was driven by college-educated, childless, and low-income households and was stronger for sweeter and more convenient fruits. Considering that households in Chile do not meet health recommendations for daily fruit intake, additional policy efforts targeting healthy, unprocessed food consumption could be considered.

Structural responses to the obesity epidemic in Latin America: what are the next steps for food and physical activity policies?

Obesity is among the most complex public health challenges, particularly in Latin America, where obesity rates have increased faster than in any other region. Many countries have proposed or enacted comprehensive policies to promote adequate diet and physical activity under a structural framework. We summarize articles discussing the scope and impact of recently implemented obesity-related interventions in the light of a structural response framework. Overall, we find that: (1) market-based food interventions, including taxes on junk food, nutrition labelling, and marketing restrictions, decrease the consumption of targeted foods, (2) programs directly providing healthy foods are effective in reducing obesity, and (3) the construction of public areas for recreation increases the average frequency of physical activity. Although obesity-related interventions in the region have somewhat improved health behaviours, obesity prevalence remains on an upward trend. We discuss some opportunities to continue tackling the obesity epidemic in LATAM under a structural framework.

Did mental and emotional health of SNAP families' children improve during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected low-income households in the United States. As part of the government's response to the pandemic, households with children participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefited from several temporary provisions. This study examines whether the mental/emotional well-being of children in SNAP families was influenced by the SNAP temporary provisions, overall and across subpopulations by race/ethnicity and school meal programs (SMP) participation status of children. Cross-sectional data from the 2016-2020 National Survey of Children Health (NSCH) were used to study the occurrence of mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral (MEDB) health of children (6-17 years) in SNAP families. Difference-in-Differences (DID) analyses were conducted to assess the association between MEDB health of children in SNAP families and the implementation of the SNAP provisions. Overall, finding show that between 2016 and 2020, children in SNAP families were more likely to face adverse MEDB conditions than children in non-SNAP families (p < 0.05). DID analyses indicate that children's MEDB health was not statistically affected following the first year of SNAP temporary provisions (p > 0.1). Additionally, no differential results were found by race/ethnicity of children or SMP participation (p > 0.1). Results are robust to the use of different well-being measures. These results suggest that SNAP provisions may have been associated with the reduction of the adverse effects of the pandemic on children's well-being.

How to assess? Student preferences for methods to assess experiential learning: A best-worst scaling approach.

Transitioning from traditional in-person classroom formats to online instructional delivery methods and online student assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant challenge to effective teaching, learning, and evaluation. Although there is a growing literature assessing the relative efficacy of different online teaching techniques, previous literature has not analyzed, from the student perspective, what methods are preferred for evaluating performance in experiential learning courses. How students perceive assessment methods is critical because it can affect their learning experience and academic achievements. To better understand student preferences for assessment methods, the best-worst scaling approach was used in two online surveys of 218 undergraduate students enrolled in experiential learning-based programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of student responses indicates students' highest levels of support for assessments that emphasize the development of critical thinking skills and professional skills, such as case studies. Most students would prefer assessments that are driving (develop different skills such as creative thinking) and realistic (develop skills transferable to the real world), while only a few (< 1%) prefer assessments that are fast (involve little time), frequent, safe (has preventive measures to eliminate cheating), or strategic (high probability of getting good grades).

Does point-of-sale nutrition information improve the nutritional quality of food choices?

Point-of-sale nutrition information has been adopted by numerous grocery stores to respond to the demand for easy-to-understand nutrition labeling by consumers. Although there is conflicting evidence regarding the effectiveness of providing nutrition information, previous research indicates simplified shelf nutrition labels may lead to healthier choices. However, these studies have not examined how different consumer segments respond to these labels, nor the differential impacts across foods. Using household purchase data from a store that voluntarily adopted the (now defunct) NuVal shelf nutrition labels (a 1-100 numeric score derived from a nutrition-profiling algorithm), we assess NuVal impacts across different consumers and foods. NuVal scores potentially influence not only purchase quantity but also likelihood of buying. Thus, the effect of NuVal was measured by estimating a two-part model and predicting consumers' unconditional purchase responses. We found evidence of heterogeneous impacts of NuVal across consumers and foods. High-income households and households with children shifted their yogurt and frozen dinner purchases to more healthful items. In contrast, households with children and households headed by heads with college education slightly shifted their canned soup purchases to less healthful options. Our findings suggest that specific foods and consumer segments are influenced by simplified shelf nutrition information and further research is necessary to better understand its effect on consumer dietary quality.

Identifying the effect of shelf nutrition labels on consumer purchases: results of a natural experiment and consumer survey.

Background: NuVal, developed by NuVal, LLC, is a shelf nutrition label that rates the nutritional quality of foods on a scale of 1 (worst) to 100 (best). Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the impact of the NuVal labels on food-purchasing patterns. Design: In 2014, NuVal updated its nutrient profiling system, which changed the NuVal score on many foods. We took advantage of this "natural experiment" to assess the extent to which a change in the NuVal score influenced purchases of yogurts, a category with a wide range of more and less healthy alternatives. We supplemented these data with a survey of consumers in stores using NuVal labels to obtain their experience with the labels and the extent to which they state that the labels influence their purchases. Results: Results suggested that a 1-point increase in the NuVal score is associated with a 0.49% increase in sales. Because only 8% of survey respondents reported using NuVal to influence dairy purchases, the impact of a change in the score among users may be >10 times the average effect. Conclusion: Results suggest that front-of-package nutrition labels are likely to influence purchasing patterns. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03390075.