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IntroductionWe present a comprehensive picture of state requirements and recommendations for body mass index (BMI) and body composition screening of children and explore the association between pediatric obesity prevalence and state screening policies.MethodsResearchers completed telephone interviews with contacts at the departments of education for all 50 states and reviewed state content standards for physical education.ResultsTwenty states (40%) require BMI or body composition screening, and 9 states (18%) recommend BMI screening or a formal fitness assessment that includes a body composition component. The prevalence of adolescent obesity was higher in states that require BMI screening or fitness assessments with body composition than in states without requirements (16.7% vs 13.6%, P = .001).ConclusionFuture studies should evaluate the effect and cost-effectiveness of BMI and body composition screening on child obesity.

Purpose of reviewHalf of states in the USA have legislation requiring that schools conduct body mass index (BMI) screening among students; just under half of these states report results to parents. The effectiveness of school-based BMI screening and reporting in reducing childhood obesity is not established and the practice has raised concerns about the potential for increased weight-based stigmatization.Recent findingsRecent experimental studies of BMI screening and reporting have not demonstrated a positive impact on students' weight status. However, the language and formatting of BMI reports used in studies to date have been suboptimal and have likely limited the potential effectiveness of the practice. This article reviews the recent literature on school-based BMI screening and reporting and highlights important areas for future inquiry. The present review suggests that evidence to date is not sufficient to support definitive conclusions about the value of school-based BMI screening and reporting as a childhood obesity prevention tool.

Half of states in the U.S. have legislation requiring that schools conduct body mass index (BMI) screening among students; just under half of these states report results to parents. The effectiveness of school-based BMI screening and reporting in reducing childhood obesity is not established and the practice has raised concerns about the potential for increased weight-based stigmatization. Recent experimental studies of BMI screening and reporting have not demonstrated a positive impact on students' weight status. However, the language and formatting of BMI reports used in studies to date have been suboptimal and have likely limited the potential effectiveness of the practice. This article reviews the recent literature on school-based BMI screening and reporting and highlights important areas for future inquiry. The present review suggests that evidence to date is not sufficient to support definitive conclusions about the value of school-based BMI screening and reporting as a childhood obesity prevention tool.

We sought to describe how revenues from sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise taxes in 7 U.S. cities are being allocated, who is benefiting from these investments, and whether allocations are consistent with the original intent of tax legislation. We collected information from public documents and key informants about allocations in the most recent fiscal year available (ranging from 2018 to 2021). Across the 7 U.S. cities with taxes, the average annual revenue from SSB taxes totaled $133.9M. In the fiscal year studied, cities allocated a total of $133.2M in SSB tax revenues. Human and community capital investments totaled $89.6M (67% of all allocations) funding early childhood development, community infrastructure improvements, and youth and workforce development. Health-related investments totaled $36.9M (28% of total allocations), funding access to healthy foods and beverages; support for physical activity opportunities; promotion of overall physical, mental or social health and wellbeing; health and nutrition education; chronic-disease prevention and management; and reducing SSB consumption. In the 3 cities that specified how tax revenues would be spent, allocations were consistent with promised uses of revenues. In addition, 85% of aggregated revenues ($112.9M) were targeted to support work and programs in impacted communities (communities that experience health inequities, discrimination and exclusion). SSB tax revenues are supporting initiatives to improve community health, develop human and community capital, and advance equity. These investments may yield additional health benefits beyond those resulting from lower SSB consumption. Consistent tracking and public reporting on revenue allocations would increase transparency and accountability.

We sought to describe how revenues from sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise taxes in 7 U.S. cities are being allocated, who is benefiting from these investments, and whether allocations are consistent with the original intent of tax legislation. We collected information from public documents and key informants about allocations in the most recent fiscal year available (ranging from 2018 to 2021). Across the 7 U.S. cities with taxes, the average annual revenue from SSB taxes totaled $133.9 M. In the fiscal year studied, cities allocated a total of $133.2 M in SSB tax revenues. Human and community capital investments totaled $89.6 M (67% of all allocations) funding early childhood development, community infrastructure improvements, and youth and workforce development. Health-related investments totaled $36.9 M (28% of total allocations), funding access to healthy foods and beverages; support for physical activity opportunities; promotion of overall physical, mental or social health and wellbeing; health and nutrition education; chronic-disease prevention and management; and reducing SSB consumption. In the 3 cities that specified how tax revenues would be spent, allocations were consistent with promised uses of revenues. In addition, 85% of aggregated revenues ($112.9 M) were targeted to support work and programs in impacted communities (communities that experience health inequities, discrimination and exclusion). SSB tax revenues are supporting initiatives to improve community health, develop human and community capital, and advance equity. These investments may yield additional health benefits beyond those resulting from lower SSB consumption. Consistent tracking and public reporting on revenue allocations would increase transparency and accountability.

Abstract. When natural hazards interact in compound events, they may reinforce each other. This is a concern today and in light of climate change.
In the case of coastal flooding, sea-level variability due to tides, seasonal to inter-annual salinity and temperature variations, or larger–scale wind conditions modify the development and ramifications of extreme sea levels. Here, we explore how various prior conditions could have influenced peak water levels for the devastating coastal flooding event in the western Baltic Sea in 1872. We design numerical experiments by imposing a range of precondition circumstances as boundary conditions to numerical ocean model simulations. This allows us to quantify the changes in peak water levels that arise due to alternative preconditioning of the sea level before the storm surge. Our results show that certain preconditioning could have generated even more catastrophic impacts. As an example, a simulated increase in the water level of 36 cm compared to the 1872 event occurred in Køge just south of Copenhagen (Denmark) and surrounding areas – a region that was already severely impacted. The increased water levels caused by the alternative sea-level patterns propagate as long waves until encountering shallow and narrow straits, and after that, the effect vastly decreases. Adding artificial increases in wind speeds to each study point location reveals a near-linear relationship with peak water levels for all western Baltic locations, highlighting the need for good assessments of future wind extremes. Our research indicates that a more hybrid approach to analysing compound events and readjusting our present warning system to a more contextualised framework might provide a firmer foundation for climate adaptation and disaster risk management. In particular, accentuating the importance of compound preconditioning effects on the outcome of natural hazards may avoid under- or overestimation of the associated risks.

Introduction: Schools meals offer a critical opportunity for improving youths' diets, particularly for economically disadvantaged students. We examine the impact of a multipronged intervention to increase middle and high school students' lunch participation in an urban school district. Methods: In school years 2015-2016 through 2017-2018, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in 24 secondary schools, half (n = 12) of which received the following intervention: cafeteria redesign, additional school lunch points-of-sale (mobile carts and vending machines), and teacher education. Results: From baseline to follow-up, lunch participation dropped 4.1% in intervention and 5.1% in comparison schools (difference-in-difference 1.0%, 95% CI 0.5-1.4). The overall decline in lunch participation occurred simultaneously with a drop-in free or reduced-price meal eligibility (from 72% to 58%) across all schools, which is likely related to changing local economic conditions, including a county-wide minimum wage increase that began in summer 2015. Among students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, participation decreased 1.8% in intervention and 4.9% in comparison schools (difference-in-difference 3.1%, 95% CI: 2.5-3.7), with a larger difference-in-difference seen in high schools (5.0%, 95% CI: 4.2-5.9) than middle schools (1.8%, 95% CI: 0.8-2.6). Conclusions: While this intervention demonstrated a modest, but significant relative increase in school lunch participation, the effect was not sufficient to halt large district-wide declines in participation during this study period. Given the significant time, money, and political capital required to implement the intervention, districts should carefully consider similar investments. Broader public policies or other changes to economic conditions that affect eligibility for means-tested benefits-in this case, a strengthening local economy coupled with an increased local minimum wage-may influence school lunch participation more than school-level interventions.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1. Seeds -- How Corporations Control Our Seeds -- Taking Back Our Seeds -- 2. Pesticides -- Pesticide Purveyors and Corporate Power -- Drift Catchers Combatting Pesticide Power -- 3. Extraction -- Devil's Bargain: Fractured Farms or Freedom? -- Food and Water over Fracking -- 4. Labor -- Food Workers versus Food Giants -- Food Workers Taking On Goliath -- 5. Health -- Fast Food Embodied: Industrial Diets -- Moving a McMountain -- 6. Hunger -- Hunger Incorporated: Who Benefits from Anti-Hunger Efforts? -- Progress over Poverty through Political Power -- 7. Trade -- The Corporate Stock in Trade -- Food Sovereignty in Japan and Beyond -- Conclusion: Stand Up, Bite Back -- Afterword: Taking Action to Create Change -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Contributors -- Index