Community and School Programs, Policies and Environments Related to Child Dietary Intake:The Healthy Communities Study
Authors' conclusion
Findings suggest the importance of addressing social determinants of health such as education, poverty and transportation to reduce disparities in dietary intake, and the need to tailor interventions to community characteristics. More research is needed to explore the interaction of race/ethnicity and SES on dietary intake and intervention effectiveness.
Study context
- Population
- Children 4–15 years old from elementary and middle schools in 130 US communities, 2013–2015
- Participants
- 5,138 children130 communities
- Outcome
- Child intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in relation to community programs and policies (CPPs) and school environments
Methodological details130 US communities, classification and regression trees
- 130 US communities
- Classification and regression trees
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Community sociodemographic characteristics were the first-selected variables related to child intakes
- Lower community SES and larger proportions of African Americans: lower fruits and vegetables (FV) and higher sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) intakes
- Associations of dietary intake with race/ethnicity varied with SES
- Community programs and policies (CPPs) addressing certain social determinants of health related to higher FV intake among community race/ethnicity-SES sub-groups
- Few other CPPs and no school environment characteristics related to child FV or SSB intake
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Community and School Programs, Policies and Environments Related to Child Dietary Intake:The Healthy Communities Study. Pediatr Obes. Published 22 July 2025. doi:10.
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