The effect of the 2009 WIC food package change on childhood obesity varies by gender and initial weight status in Los Angeles County

Chaparro, M. Pia; Anderson, Christopher; Crespi, Catherine M.; Whaley, Shannon E.; Wang, May D.

doi:10.1111/ijpo.12526

Cited by 16 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Frequencies, means and SD were used to characterize participants. Because sex differences were reported previously, 16 22 sex-stratified analyses were conducted. WHZ growth trajectories were modelled using piecewise linear spline mixed models.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Every month matters: longitudinal associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration, child growth and obesity among WIC-participating children

Anderson

Whaley

Crespi

et al. 2020

J Epidemiol Community Health

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BackgroundResearch has found breastfeeding to be protective of obesity; however, this link remains contentious. We examined longitudinal associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration, growth trajectories and obesity at 4 years among children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and whether these associations differed in the context of the 2009 WIC food package change, implemented to improve alignment with dietary guidelines and promote breastfeeding.MethodsLongitudinal data from 260 935 WIC-participating children in Los Angeles County, California, 2003–2016, were used to assess the relationship between duration of receipt of the fully breastfeeding package (an exclusive breastfeeding proxy) with childhood growth and obesity using mixed effects and Poisson regression models.ResultsChildren exclusively breastfed for longer duration had healthier growth trajectories and lower obesity risk at age 4. Compared with infants with no fully breastfeeding package receipt, any receipt (a breastfeeding initiation proxy) was associated with reduced obesity risk. Obesity risk was lowest for boys and girls exclusively breastfed for 7 (risk ratio (RR)=0.73, 95% CI=0.64 to 0.82) and 13 months (RR=0.63, 95% CI=0.58 to 0.69), respectively. Exclusive breastfeeding duration increased, but associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration and growth and obesity were not modified, following the 2009 WIC food package change.ConclusionIncreased duration of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with reduced obesity risk. The greatest incremental benefit was observed going from none to any exclusive breastfeeding, and the maximum cumulative benefit was among children receiving the fully breastfeeding package for more than 6 months. Breastfeeding promotion in WIC remains important for obesity prevention.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Every month matters: longitudinal associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration, child growth and obesity among WIC-participating children

Anderson

Whaley

Crespi

et al. 2020

J Epidemiol Community Health

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“…Forty-four studies assessed the association between the 2009 WIC food package revisions and availability of foods and beverages in supermarkets; purchases, redemptions, or dietary intake among WIC participants; obesity in early childhood; perinatal and birth outcomes; or outcomes related to breastfeeding [ 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 ]. There is consistent evidence of an association between the WIC food package revisions and improvements in household food purchases and dietary intake among both adults and children [ 111 , 114 , 115 , 116 ...…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Impacts of the revisions on breastfeeding are mixed, with some studies showing increases in breastfeeding initiation [ 129 , 153 ], others showing no effect [ 118 ], and none finding a relationship with breastfeeding at six months [ 129 , 153 ]. Recent research using interrupted time series or controlled quasi-experimental designs show improvements in maternal and child health outcomes resulting from the food package changes, including reductions in infant and young child obesity [ 125 , 126 , 127 , 130 ], improvements in infant birth weight outcomes (low birth weight, small for gestational age, and large for gestational age) [ 120 ], and reductions in maternal weight gain and preeclampsia [ 120 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review

Moran

Clynes

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Supermarkets are natural and important settings for implementing environmental interventions to improve healthy eating, and governmental policies could help improve the nutritional quality of purchases in this setting. This review aimed to: (1) identify governmental policies in the United States (U.S.), including regulatory and legislative actions of federal, tribal, state, and local governments, designed to promote healthy choices in supermarkets; and (2) synthesize evidence of these policies’ effects on retailers, consumers, and community health. We searched five policy databases and developed a list of seven policy actions that meet our inclusion criteria: calorie labeling of prepared foods in supermarkets; increasing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; financial incentives for the purchase of fruit and vegetables; sweetened beverage taxes; revisions to the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food package; financial assistance for supermarkets to open in underserved areas; and allowing online purchases with SNAP. We searched PubMed, Econlit, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Business Source Ultimate to identify peer-reviewed, academic, English-language literature published at any time until January 2020; 147 studies were included in the review. Sweetened beverage taxes, revisions to the WIC food package, and financial incentives for fruits and vegetables were associated with improvements in dietary behaviors (food purchases and/or consumption). Providing financial incentives to supermarkets to open in underserved areas and increases in SNAP benefits were not associated with changes in food purchasing or diet quality but may improve food security. More research is needed to understand the effects of calorie labeling in supermarkets and online SNAP purchasing.

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“…neighborhoods with high density of unhealthy food outlets) may be needed. Gender differences in the associations between the 2009 WIC food package change and childhood obesity have been reported previously [17,42], and more detailed research may be needed to evaluate why benefits of the food package changes seem to have been more consistent for boys than for girls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The neighborhood food environment modifies the effect of the 2009 WIC food package change on childhood obesity in Los Angeles County, California

et al. 2020

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Background: Food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) were revised in 2009 to better align them with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This study was conducted to evaluate whether the effect of the food package change on childhood obesity varied by the food environment in the neighborhoods where WIC-participating children live. Methods: Administrative data from participating children in Los Angeles County, California (2003-2016) were merged with geocoded food vendor information by neighborhood of residence. Obesity risk at age 4 was compared between children receiving old (2003-2009) and new (2010-2016) WIC food packages using sexstratified Poisson regression models, with interaction terms between WIC package and neighborhood density (number per square mile) of healthy and unhealthy food outlets. Results: The new food package was associated with a significant decrease in obesity risk. Among boys, the new food package was associated with 8 to 18% lower obesity risk at all healthy and unhealthy food outlet densities, and the association was not modified by neighborhood food outlet density. Among girls, the association of the new food package with obesity risk was protective in neighborhoods with high healthy and low unhealthy food outlet densities, and adverse in neighborhoods with high unhealthy and low healthy food outlet densities. The effect of the new food package among girls was modified by unhealthy food outlet density, with significantly smaller (p-value = 0.004) decreases in obesity risk observed in neighborhoods with higher unhealthy food outlet density. Conclusions: The impact of the food package change was modified by the neighborhood food environment among girls only. Future policy changes should incorporate consideration of ways to mitigate potentially inequitable geographic distribution of the health benefits of policy changes.

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The effect of the 2009 WIC food package change on childhood obesity varies by gender and initial weight status in Los Angeles County

Cited by 16 publications

References 22 publications

Every month matters: longitudinal associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration, child growth and obesity among WIC-participating children

Every month matters: longitudinal associations between exclusive breastfeeding duration, child growth and obesity among WIC-participating children

Associations between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review

The neighborhood food environment modifies the effect of the 2009 WIC food package change on childhood obesity in Los Angeles County, California

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