At a glance
Staff in CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) author articles published in peer-reviewed journals. These articles contribute to the latest scientific research. Articles here were published in the last three years. They are listed by topic and the year of publication.
Added sugars and sugary drinks
2025
Caregiver-reported sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and cavities in children aged 1 to 5 years, National Survey of Children's Health 2021–2022. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Substitution preferences for sugar-sweetened beverages among U.S. adults by sociodemographic characteristics—SummerStyles 2021. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Trends in sugar-sweetened beverage intake among young children, United States, 2021–2023. Preventing Chronic Disease.
2024
Characteristics associated with purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages and bottled water among U.S. households, 2015. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Factors associated with sugar-sweetened beverage intake among young children—United States, 2021. Preventing Chronic Disease.
2023
Associations between knowledge of health risks and sugar-sweetened beverage intake among U.S. adolescents. Nutrients.
High added sugars intake among U.S. adults: characteristics, eating occasions, and top sources, 2015–18. Nutrients.
Meeting the Healthy People 2030 added sugars target. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Occasions, locations, and reasons for consuming sugar-sweetened beverages among U.S. adults. Nutrients.
Perceptions of water safety and tap water taste and their associations with beverage intake among U.S. Adults. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
2025
Body mass index and physical activity among U.S. children with congenital heart conditions. Pediatric Cardiology.
2024
2023
BMI and associated medical expenditures in the United States among privately insured individuals aged 2 to 19 years in 2018. JAMA Pediatrics.
BMI and physical activity, military-aged U.S. population 2015–2020. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
CDC extended BMI-for-age percentiles versus percent of the 95th percentile. Pediatrics.
Probability of 5% or greater weight loss or BMI reduction to healthy weight among adults with overweight or obesity. JAMA Network Open.
State-specific prevalence of severe obesity among adults in the United States using bias correction of self-reported BMI. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Breastfeeding
2025
Changes in donor human milk use among U.S. hospitals: 2018–2024. Pediatrics.
Hospital practices and policies for neonatal abstinence syndrome: United States, 2022. Hospital Pediatrics.
2024
Breastfeeding by disability status in the United States: pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system, 2018–2020. American Journal of Public Health.
Changes in breastfeeding and related maternity care practices after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Breastfeeding Medicine: The Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.
Changes in maternity care policies and practices that support breastfeeding as measured by the ten steps to successful breastfeeding—United States, 2018–2022. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
Gains needed to achieve Healthy People 2030 breastfeeding targets. Pediatrics.
Maternity care practices supportive of breastfeeding in U.S. advanced neonatal care units, United States, 2022. Journal of Perinatology: Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association.
Unpacking breastfeeding disparities: baby-friendly hospital designation associated with reduced in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding disparity attributed to neighborhood poverty. Maternal and Child Health Journal.
2023
Associations between breastfeeding and post-perinatal infant deaths in the United States. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Disaggregation of breastfeeding initiation rates by race and ethnicity—United States, 2020–2021. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Early introduction of complementary foods/drinks and milk feeding type in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Factors associated with in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding among a racially and ethnically diverse patient population. Breastfeeding Medicine.
Human milk expression in the first year postpartum among persons with low incomes. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
Impact of early formula supplementation on breastfeeding duration, National Immunization Survey, 2019 births. Journal of Perinatology.
Prevalence and predictors of breastfeeding duration of 24 or more months. Pediatrics.
Public belief in the maternal health benefits of breastfeeding—United States, 2018 and 2021. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Early care and education
2023
Multi-state implementation of Go NAPSACC to support healthy practices in the early care and education setting. Health Promotion Practice.
Supporting healthy weight in statewide quality rating and improvement systems: A review of 2020 standards and comparison to 2015 standards. Childhood Obesity.
Time playing outdoors among children aged 3–5 years: National Survey of Children's Health, 2021. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Infant and toddler nutrition
2023
Count every bite to make "every bite count": measurement gaps and future directions for assessing diet from birth to 24 months. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Early introduction of complementary foods/drinks and milk feeding type in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Infant burn injuries related to water heating for powdered infant formula preparation. Frontiers in Pediatrics.
Retraction and republication: timing of introduction of complementary foods—United States, 2016–2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Nutrition
2025
Food policy councils and healthy food access policies: a 2021 National Survey of Community Policy Supports. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Fruit and vegetable intake among rural populations in the United States, by sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral risk factor surveillance system 2019, 2021. Nutrition and Health.
Healthy food service guidelines for worksites and institutions: a scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Prevalence and correlates of healthy behaviors among children age 3–5 years. American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
Public transit supports for food access: 2021 National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS HEAL). Preventing Chronic Disease.
Anemia and micronutrients
Exploring the use of iron and hematologic indicators for surveillance of iron deficiency in pregnant and nonpregnant women in the United States. The Journal of Nutrition.
Micronutrients associated with anemia in school-age children and adolescents 2005–2018: biomarkers reflecting inflammation and nutritional determinants of anemia (BRINDA) project. Current Developments in Nutrition.
The school food environment in Ghana is associated with dietary diversity and anemia: findings from the 2022 National Nutrition and Health Survey of In-School Adolescents. Food and Nutrition Bulletin.
Serum thyroglobulin levels are predictive of urinary iodine concentration thresholds for defining population iodine status. The British Journal of Nutrition.
2024
Behavioral design strategies improve healthy food sales in a military cafeteria. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Factors associated with daily fruit and vegetable intakes among children aged 1–5 years in the United States. Nutrients.
Impact of fruit and vegetable incentive programs on food insecurity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and health outcomes: a community guide systematic review. American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
A qualitative exploration of barriers, facilitators and best practices for implementing environmental sustainability standards and reducing food waste in veterans affairs hospitals. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
What North American retail food environment indices miss in Guatemala: cultural considerations for the study of place and health. Applied Geography.
Anemia and Micronutrients
Comparison of venous and pooled capillary hemoglobin levels for the detection of anemia among adolescent girls. Frontiers in Nutrition.
Concordance between hemoglobin and hematocrit among children and pregnant persons in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data, 1999–2020. Journal of Nutrition.
Development of a population-level dichotomous indicator of minimum dietary diversity as a proxy for micronutrient adequacy in adolescents aged 10–19 y in the United States. Journal of Nutrition.
Emerging evidence and critical issues with the use of single-drop capillary blood for the measurement of hemoglobin concentration in population-level anemia surveys. Advances in Nutrition.
Physiologically based trimester-specific serum ferritin thresholds for iron deficiency in U.S. pregnant women. Blood Advances.
2023
Dietary and physical activity behaviors in 2021 and changes from 2019 to 2021 among high school students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report supplement.
Fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake among young children, by state — United States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
School nutrition environment and services: policies and practices that promote healthy eating among K–12 students. Journal of School Health.
What do United States adolescents eat? Food group consumption patterns and dietary diversity from a decade of nationally representative data. Current Developments in Nutrition.
Anemia and micronutrients
Accelerating action to reduce anemia: review of causes and risk factors and related data needs. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Association between hemoglobin and elevation among school-aged children: a verification of proposed adjustments. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The challenge of defining the global burden of iron deficiency anaemia. Lancet Haematology.
Diagnosing anemia: challenges selecting methods, addressing underlying causes, and implementing actions at the public health level. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
The effect of interventions distributing home fortification products on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices: a systematic narrative review. Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Integrating and coordinating programs for the management of anemia across the life course. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
The prevalence of anemia in children aged 6–23 months and its correlates differ by district in Kapilvastu and Achham districts in Nepal. Current Developments in Nutrition.
Review of intervention products for use in the prevention and control of anemia. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Streamlining micronutrient biomarker statistical analysis in populations: an introduction to the SAMBA R package. Journal of Nutrition.
Trends in micronutrient interventions, anemia, and iron deficiency among women and children in Guatemala, 2009–2019. Current Developments in Nutrition.
Obesity
2025
Double burden of malnutrition in Guatemala: co-existence of childhood stunting and overweight and obesity within the household. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Incidence of metabolic and bariatric surgery among U.S. adults with obesity by diabetes status: 2016–2020. BMI Open Diabetes Research & Care.
Longitudinal medical costs and hospitalization risk associated with sustained obesity. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Prescriptions for obesity medications among adolescents aged 12–17 years with obesity—United States, 2018–2023. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Regional implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood obesity prevalence, Denver, Colorado, 2019–2022. Childhood Obesity.
State-level prevalence of chronic conditions co-occurring with obesity among U.S. adults. Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism.
State-level variation in glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists fills and spending by obesity prevalence, 2023. Journal of the American Heart Association.
2024
Addressing the obesity epidemic will require prevention and treatment working together. Health Affairs Forefront.
Adult obesity treatment and prevention: A trans-agency commentary on the research landscape, gaps, and future opportunities. Obesity Reviews.
Moving beyond research to public health practice: spread and scale of interventions that support healthy childhood growth. Childhood Obesity.
Pediatric lipid screening prevalence using nationwide electronic medical records. JAMA Network Open.
Trends in severe obesity among children aged 2 to 4 years in WIC: 2010 to 2020. Pediatrics.
Who gets a code for obesity? Reliability, use, and implications of combining international classification of diseases-based obesity codes, 2014–2021. Childhood Obesity.
2023
Associations between comfort eating and weight change during the COVID-19 pandemic among U.S. adults. Human Nutrition and Metabolism.
Examination of prediabetes and diabetes testing among U.S. pediatric patients with overweight or obesity using an electronic health record. Childhood Obesity.
Leveraging electronic health records to construct a phenotype for hypertension surveillance in the United States. American Journal of Hypertension.
National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research efforts to advance childhood obesity research: progress and next steps. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Prevalence of testing for diabetes among U.S. adults with overweight or obesity, 2016–2019. Preventing Chronic Disease.
State-level hypertension prevalence and control among adults in the United States. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Trends in severe obesity among children aged 2 to 4 years in WIC: 2010 to 2020. Pediatrics.
Using real-world electronic health record data to assess chronic disease screening in children: a case study of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Childhood Obesity.
Physical activity
2025
Accelerometer-derived total activity and cardiometabolic health factors among U.S. adults, NHANES 2011-2014. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Associations between leisure-time physical activity and mortality by sociodemographic factors. Journal of Physical Activity & Health.
Daily steps as a public health metric for physical activity monitoring and promotion. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews.
Inadequate aerobic physical activity and healthcare expenditures in the United States: an updated cost estimate. American Journal of Health Promotion.
Nonoccupational physical activity during pregnancy, behavioral risk factor surveillance system, United States, 2023. Public Health Reports.
Self-reported reasons preventing U.S. adults from walking to places within 10 minutes of home. Preventing Chronic Disease.
2024
Arthritis management: patient-reported health care provider screening, counseling, and recommendations for physical activity. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Association between leisure-time physical activity and occupation activity level, National Health Interview Survey-United States, 2020. Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
Call to action: contribute to the development of the third edition of the physical activity guidelines for Americans. Translational Journal of the American College of Sprots Medicine.
Factors preventing walking to near-home destinations by transportation walking status, U.S. adults, 2022. Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living.
Meeting the aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines among older U.S. adults, National Health Interview Survey 1998–2018. Journal of Applied Gerontology.
Physical activity behaviors and negative safety and violence experiences among high school students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Supplements.
Prevalence of vision zero action plans or strategies: USA, 2021. Injury Prevention.
Stepping up counseling and referral to effective physical activity interventions for adults with osteoarthritis. The Journal of Rheumatology.
Parks, trails, and greenways for physical activity: a community guide systematic economic review. American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
Using location-based services data to map and evaluate a community design intervention to increase bicycling, Denver, Colorado. Preventing Chronic Disease.
2023
Association between passively collected walking and bicycling data and purposefully collected active commuting survey data—United States, 2019. Health and Place.
Awareness and knowledge of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
Changes in perceptions of the near-home walking environment among U.S. adults—2015 and 2020 National Health Interview Survey. Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
Changes in physical inactivity among U.S. adults overall and by sociodemographic characteristics, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020 versus 2018. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Changes in teleworking and physical activity behaviors in the United States before and after emergence of COVID-19. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The effects of policy changes and human mobility on the COVID-19 epidemic in the Dominican Republic, 2020–2021. Preventive Medicine Reports.
Joint prevalence of influenza preventive behaviors among adults-United States, 2020. Journal of Primary Care and Community Health.
Leisure-time physical activity and mortality from influenza and pneumonia: a cohort study of 577,909 U.S. adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Physical activity-friendly policies and community design features in the U.S., 2014 and 2021. Preventing Chronic Disease.
Physical activity interventions during the school day: reviewing policies, practices, and benefits. Journal of School Health.
Programs
2025
Scanning for wellness: QR code strategies to promote public health programs. HealthPromotion Practice.
2023
The key to pivoting and adapting: networked partnerships, long-standing relationships, and functioning program infrastructure. Health Promotion Practice.
Research
2025
Trends in multiple chronic conditions among U.S. adults, by life stage, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013–2023. Preventing Chronic Disease.
2024
Data for decision makers: finding policy, systems, and environmental solutions for public health problems. Preventing Chronic Disease.