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State-run nutrition programs linked to better eating habits in all ages

Children and adults highly exposed to The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education intervention, in California, were more likely to consume fruits and vegetables, compared with those who had little to no exposure to the programs.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture promotes behaviors that can reduce the impact of the obesity epidemic among low-income populations through its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education program, which is designed to increase the nutritious food choices of, and physical activity by, more than 45 million [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education] participants and people eligible for [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education],” Fred Molitor, PhD, chief of research and evaluation section, nutrition education and obesity prevention branch at the California Department of Public Health, and colleagues wrote.

Molitor and colleagues categorized participants, children (n = 1,217), teens (n = 465) and adults (n = 4,245) of primarily Hispanic ethnicity, into four levels of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) intervention reach — low, moderate, high and no intervention. They assessed the intervention reach of SNAP-Ed in low-income census tracts in California to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables, consume fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages less often and engage in more physical activities.

Among high-reach groups, both adults and children reported eating more fruits and vegetables compared with those from the no-intervention group. Adults from all intervention groups were found to eat fast food less often than those with no-intervention.

Teenagers from low-reach groups reported more physical activity compared with teenagers in the no-reach groups. However, researchers were surprised to see that teenagers in the intervention groups were more likely to consume fast food compared with teenagers from the no-invention group.

No link between intervention reach and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was seen.

“The Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires an annual reduction in SNAP-Ed funding by 10%. Our study provides support to maintain and ideally expand SNAP-Ed interventions as a means to address the obesity epidemic in the United States,” Molitor and colleagues said. – by Casey Hower

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.