2009年,妇女特别补充营养方案,婴儿,和儿童(WIC)实施了新的食品包装,以改善WIC参与者的饮食摄入量。本文研究了这项改革后,低收入家庭购买食品的健康状况如何变化。
从一个区域连锁超市获得了2137个参与WIC的家庭和1303个比较家庭的销售点数据。购买的食品和饮料的健康程度是根据其饱和脂肪来确定的,糖,和钠含量。使用广义估计方程模型完成了对产品篮子健康状况的事后评估(2009-2010年)。2015年的数据分析。
在基线,健康产品占WIC参与者购买的食品量的大部分,但饮料主要是适度(不太健康)的项目。有了新的水果补贴,蔬菜和全谷物,WIC修订令参与WIC的家庭购买健康食品的数量增加3.9%,温和食品减少1.8%。最大的改善是适度饮料的减少(体积下降24.7%),受WIC食品包装修订中的乳脂限制的驱动。产品篮子的健康性增加了WIC后的修订;主要是由于购买的适度食品和饮料的数量减少(下降了15.5%),而不是健康产品的增长(上升了1.9%)。在低收入非参与者的对照组中没有看到类似的改善。
在WIC修订后,参与者购买的健康状况得到了改善,特别是饮料。接受联邦粮食援助的人们鼓励健康饮食的努力正在得到回报。
In 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) implemented new food packages to improve dietary intake among WIC participants. This paper examines how the healthfulness of food purchases among low-income households changed following this reform.
Point-of-sale data for 2137 WIC-participating and 1303 comparison households were obtained from a regional supermarket chain. The healthfulness of purchased foods and beverages was determined per their saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content. A pre-post assessment (2009-2010) of the product basket healthfulness was completed using generalized estimating equation models. Data were analyzed in 2015.
At baseline, healthy products accounted for most of the food volume purchased by WIC participants, but beverages were dominated by moderation (less healthy) items. With new subsidies for fruit, vegetables and whole grains, the WIC revisions increased the volume of healthy food purchases of WIC-participating households by 3.9% and reduced moderation foods by 1.8%. The biggest improvements were reductions in moderation beverages (down by 24.7% in volume), driven by milk fat restrictions in the WIC food package revisions. The healthfulness of the product basket increased post-WIC revisions; mainly due to a reduction in the volume of moderation food and beverages purchased (down by 15.5%) rather than growth in healthy products (up by 1.9%). No similar improvements were seen in a comparison group of low-income nonparticipants.
After the WIC revisions, the healthfulness of participant purchases improved, particularly for beverages. Efforts to encourage healthy eating by people receiving federal food assistance are paying off.