News by Subject Social & Behavior

Targeted taxes on sweetened beverages and policies that strengthen nutritional standards for meals and beverages at schools may be effective tools for decreasing the purchase of sweetened drinks and reducing obesity among children living in poverty, according to two studies led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Philipp Hessel from the Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government at the University of the Andes and coauthors analyzed the association between woman political empowerment and child mortality rates in Brazil for 2000-15, finding that higher representation of women at local, state, and federal levels of decision making leads to reductions in child mortality.

New research found that the likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced cancer decreased among individuals with low income after expansion of Medicaid coverage. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The 'gamblification' of sports over recent years poses significant challenges for individuals, families and community wellbeing according to new research.

A recently published study shows that families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits later in the month have fewer ER visits, likely because they can afford to feed their families at the end of the calendar month when other resources run low.

States with the highest level of income inequality had a larger number of COVID-19-related deaths compared with states with lower income inequality. For instance, New York state, with the highest income inequality, had a mortality rate of 51.7 deaths per 100,000. This is 125 times greater than Utah, the state with the lowest income inequality and which had a mortality of 0.41 per 100,000 at the end of the period studied.

When work requirements for a federal food safety-net program start again, many low-income Americans will lose benefits -- and Black adults will be hardest hit, according to a study published today. In addition, some disabled people will lose these crucial food assistance benefits.

A new study shows that the central bank tool known as quantitative easing helped consumers substantially during the last big economic downturn -- a finding with clear relevance for today's pandemic-hit economy.