Shifts in beverage consumption were found in this convenient sample across two years. Diet soda consumption was the only type of beverage associated with year 2 BMI Z-score, and consumption was greater in overweight subjects and subjects who gained weight as compared to normal weight subjects at two years. Additional longitudinal data examining associations between beverage consumption and BMI is needed in children and adolescents, as consumption of regular and diet soda has become more of a social norm.

In this group of women, subjects with older infants or no other children reported higher HC and lower O prepregnancy to postpartum. Postpartum SE, education, and socioeconomic status were predictors of maternal well-being. In general, better maternal well-being was found among subjects maintaining or increasing SE compared to no SE or decreased SE prepregnancy to postpartum. Support from partner/husband, family, and friends were significant factors in maintaining or increasing SE.

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Policy development is an important and powerful tool to promote health and welfare in society, yet the process of adopting policies is rarely evaluated for compliance, and studies examining policy impact sometimes neglect to verify the extent to which the policy interventions are faithful to the policy's original intent. Evaluations can lead to critical improvements and improve success in achieving intended goals. In this article, Polacsek et al. present a simple yet elegant evaluation of Maine's law to limit the marketing of foods of minimal nutritional value in public school settings. Their findings underscore the need to perform such evaluations to inform enforcement efforts and assess impact.