Program Areas

Childhood Obesity

Pricing Strategies

RWJF Priority: Use pricing strategies—both incentives and disincentives—to promote the purchase of healthier foods

Prices can significantly affect family food choices and are emerging as an important strategy in the movement to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. For example, when healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are more affordable, children are less likely to gain excess weight. And leading health authorities, including the Institute of Medicine, recommend new policies to reduce overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, which are one of the top sources of calories in the American diet.

The resources below, from RWJF grantees and partners, explore the possible health and economic impacts of using pricing strategies to promote consumption of healthy foods and beverages and discourage consumption of unhealthy products.

Childhood Obesity Policy Priorities

From Bridging the Gap

Taxes on Soda and Snack Foods

Taxes on Soda and Snack Foods

Bridging the Gap (BTG) examines how changes in price affect consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. BTG also has the latest research about state-level taxes on snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages.

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More Research and Resources on Pricing Strategies

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An Introduction to Salud America!

March 1, 2013 | Journal Article

RWJF's Salud America! research network seeks to fill the gap of scientific data on causes of Latino childhood obesity and address this epidemic in U.S. Latino communities.

Salud Tiene Sabor

March 1, 2013 | Journal Article

Restaurant owners voluntarily participate in a project to provide menu nutritional information—and influence healthier food choices.

Growing Healthy Kids

March 1, 2013 | Journal Article

Community gardens provide low-income families with access to healthy local food.

Building Infrastructure to Document the U.S. Food Stream

February 1, 2013 | Journal Article

This commentary praises the detailed work of the article “Food Companies’ Calorie-Reduction Pledges to Improve U.S. Diet," which describes the independent evaluation of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) pledge to remove 1.5 trillion calories a year from the marketplace by the end of 2015.

Changing WIC Changes What Children Eat

January 1, 2013 | Journal Article

Changes in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Healthy Lifestyle Initiative saw improved health for young children participating in the New York State (NYS) WIC program: breastfeeding mothers and mothers waiting to feed infants solid foods increased; screen time and overall overweight and obesity decreased among children in NYS under four years of age.

Do All Americans Have Equal Access to Healthy Foods?

December 11, 2012 | Issue Brief

Many Americans lack regular access to healthy, affordable foods. Supermarkets provide the most reliable access to nutritious and affordable produce, and their presence is an important indicator of a community's physical health and economic vitality.

Convergence Partnership

October 31, 2012 | Program Result

The Convergence Partnership is a collaborative of funders creating healthy people in healthy places through policy and environmental change. It focuses on policy advocacy, access to healthy foods, and the built environment.