Have we moved beyond the paper survey? In a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Tisch Food Center Research Associate Heewon Lee Gray and colleagues reveal an innovative method for collecting data on kids’ eating behaviors and attitudes about food.

This study describes and presents validation data for using Audience Response System (ARS) for the questionnaire used in the Food, Health, and Choices study. By employing screens and clickers to collect feedback, ARS engages students, decreases paper use and copying costs, and minimizes data entry.

It's both critical and challenging to help teens drink fewer sugar sweetened beverages. The challenge is particularly demanding in the context of our current food environment, in which these drinks are cheap, abundant, and cleverly marketed to young people. An article by Heewon Lee Gray and colleagues in the May issue of Childhood Obesity explains what happens inside teens’ heads to get them motivated to drink fewer sugary beverages.

First, students begin to feel confident about their ability to reduce consumption and gain a sense of personal agency, helping them navigate their sugary drink-abundant environments. Students then seek strategies to overcome challenges and make plans for change, such as packing a reusable water bottle so they aren’t tempted to pick up a soda when they are thirsty after school. 

This study was part of the Center’s Choice, Control, and Change study—a school-based nutrition education intervention to reduce obesity risk in middle school students.

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Published Monday, Jun. 20, 2016