Childhood Obesity Program Area

RWJF is committed to tackling one of the most urgent threats to the health of our children and families—childhood obesity. Our goal is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

Availability of Competitive Foods and Beverages

June 1, 2010 | Issue Brief

Elementary school practices fall short of national recommendations for diet and physical activity.

States, School Districts Help Keep Junk Foods and Sugary Drinks Out of Elementary Schools

June 10, 2013 | News Release

Elementary schools are less likely to sell candy, ice cream, sugary drinks, cookies, cakes, and other unhealthy snacks when states or school districts have policies that limit the sale of such items.

Getting Kids Active: Physical Activity in Schools

October 31, 2012 | New Public Health Post

Get kids active now and often was the message at a session on childhood obesity at the American Public Health Association 2012 Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Students are not getting enough exercise," said Christina Economos as she opened the ses ...

Does Playworks Have an Impact on Schools and on the Children Who Attend Them?

September 17, 2012 | Story

Susanne N. James-Burdumy, PhD, Associate Director of Research at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., leads the random assignment evaluation of Playworks, a program that uses play to promote physical activity and youth development in schools.

Findings from a Randomized Experiment of Playworks

April 17, 2012 | Report

Strengthening recess transforms the school climate, paving the way for less bullying and more focus on learning, according to new evaluation findings from Mathematica Policy Research and Stanford University.

Healthy Schools Program: Ankeny, Iowa

April 25, 2013 | Story

Ankeny Food Service Director Lynn Swinger is serving healthier school meals to meet updated national nutrition standards.

Healthy Schools Program: Hopkins, Minnesota

April 25, 2013 | Story

Food Service Director Barb Mechura has been serving healthier school meals to comply with updated national nutrition standards.

Healthy Schools Program: Jackson, Tennessee

April 25, 2013 | Story

Susan Johnson, school nutrition supervisor for Jackson-Madison County, has been working to serve healthier school meals that meet the updated national nutrition standards

Healthy Schools Program: Topeka, Kansas

April 25, 2013 | Story

Niki Jahnke, food service director for Topeka Public Schools, has made changes to serve students healthier meals that comply with updated national nutrition standards.

Healthy Schools Program: Memphis, Tennessee

April 25, 2013 | Story

Tony Geraci, executive director child nutrition for Memphis City Public Schools, is working to serve healthier school meals that comply with updated national nutrition standards