Abstract: The SNaX Study: A Community-Academic Partnership to Address Obesity Among Middle School Students

Current policies target schools as key settings in which to address disparities in child obesity. Interventions to improve the school nutritional environment have shown encouraging results for reducing body mass index, decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and increasing fruit and vegetable intake. However, few interventions have been developed and tested for feasibility and effectiveness in partnership with key stakeholders in large school districts. In this session, Dr. Laura Bogart will discuss the development and results of Students for Nutrition and eXercise (SNaX), a 5-week middle-school-based obesity-prevention intervention that combines school-wide food environmental changes, multimedia, encouragement to eat healthy school cafeteria foods, and peer-led education. She will describe the formation and maintenance of the partnership with the participating school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, as well as relevant community stakeholders; review the results of the randomized controlled trial; and discuss the policy impact of the research and program dissemination activities.