WIC Research, Policy and Practice Hub WIC Research, Policy and Practice Hub

Scope: Research


Smart Food Policies for Obesity Prevention

We identify four mechanisms through which food policies can affect diet: providing an enabling environment for learning of healthy preferences, overcoming barriers to the expression of healthy preferences, encouraging people to reassess existing unhealthy preferences at the point-of-purchase, and stimulating a food-systems response


The Childhood Obesity Epidemic as a Result of Nongenetic Evolution: The Maternal Resources Hypothesis

Natural selection was iatrogenically rendered artificial selection, and the frequency of obese, inactive, metabolically compromised phenotypes increased in the global population. By the late 20th century, a metabolic tipping point was reached at which the postprandial insulin response was so intense, the relative number of adipocytes so large, and inactivity so pervasive that the competitive dominance of adipocytes in the sequestering of nutrient energy was inevitable and obesity was unavoidable.


Review of WIC Food Packages: Improving Balance and Choice: Final Report

The review committee targeted amounts of food, specifications for foods and additional substitutions of options for foods. They recommended reducing the quantities of items supplied in more than supplemental forms, increasing foods that were under consumed (FNV) and adjusted criteria to include whole grains while reducing added sugar consumption. Additional options were added for vegan participants.