Child Care & Obesity Prevention

Healthy child development depends on eating nutritious food and being physically active every day. This is especially important during the preschool years when children are rapidly building their brains and bodies. Through its portfolio of early childhood-focused research projects, publications, and tools, the Center for Public Health Nutrition aims to foster environments that make it easy for young children to be active and choose healthful foods. Current focus areas include:

Child Care and Obesity Prevention: Behaviors that lead to obesity often begin in the preschool years and many children reach an unhealthy weight even before they begin kindergarten. Nutrition, physical activity, and screen media policies and practices in the child care environment greatly influences what children eat and do, and can play a key role in preventing childhood obesity. The Center for Public Health Nutrition published three issue briefs to highlight the importance of child care in obesity prevention efforts and outline best practices and policy recommendations. Briefs (linked to the right) are available for child care professionals, policymakers, and general audiences.

Influences on Food Quality and Physical Activity in Family Child Care Homes: Two research projects were conducted in family child care homes to understand how factors such as food cost, time, provider characteristics, and neighborhood environments influence the meals/snacks that are served and children’s physical activity during the day.

Minimizing Screen Time in Early Childhood Settings: The UW Center for Public Health has developed a variety of field-tested tools and trainings available on Active Bodies, Active Minds (waabam.org) to ensure that environments for children ages 2-5 encourage minimum screen time and maximum physical activity.

Key Resources

Child Care Nutrition and Health Programs

• Child and Adult Care Food Program - CACFP
• Healthy Child Care Consultant Network Support Center

Practice Guidelines & Performance Standards

• Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs
• Model Physical Activity Standards for Child-Care Providers (For Infant Through Preschool-Age Children)
• American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement: Children, Adolescents, and Television
• My Pyramid for Preschoolers

Toolkits

• Nutrition & Physical Activity Self Assessment for Child Care - NAP SACC
  Tools to enhance policies, practices, and environments in child
  care by improving the nutritional quality of food served, amount and quality of physical activity, staff-child interactions, and facility nutrition and physical activity policies and practices and related environmental characteristics.
• Washington Active Bodies, Active Minds - WAABAM
  Web site, toolkit and training materials to minimize screen time and maximize physical activity in environments for preschool children.
• Go Out & Play Kit
  A resource to help early childhood educators monitor development through play with fun and interactive activities designed for children 3 through 5 years of age.

Reports & Research

• Child Care and Obesity Policy Forum Presentations
  Keynote, research update, and panel presentations from the forum on child care, childhood obesity, and policy intervention hosted by the University of Washington Human Services Policy Center and Center for Obesity Research in 2007.
• Preschool child care participation and obesity at the start of kindergarten. (abstract) Maher EJ, Li G, Carter L, Johnson DB. Pediatrics. 2008 Aug;122(2):322-30.
• The Role of Child Care Settings in Obesity Prevention.
  Story M, Kaphingst KM, and French S. The Future of Children: Childhood Obesity. 2006; 16(1).
• Child care as an untapped setting for obesity prevention: state child care licensing regulations related to nutrition, physical activity, and media use for preschool-aged children in the United States. Kaphingst KM, Story M. Prev Chronic Dis. 2009 Jan;6(1):A11. Epub 2008 Dec 15.
• A Statewide Analysis of the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Family Child Care Providers in Oregon. Kelly Meredith. National CACFP Forum. 2009.
• Child Care and Obesity Prevention Bibliography (pdf)
  Articles and reports on obesity prevention, nutrition, physical activity, and screen media time reviewed to prepare the Child Care & Obesity issue briefs linked above.

Issue Briefs

1: Why Child Care Matters for Obesity Prevention

Presents the case for focusing on child care as an important part of strategic plans to reduce childhood obesity. It is intended for a wide audience including policymakers, public health officials, and the general public. Download Brief (pdf)

2: Best Practices for Nutrition, Physical Activity & Screen Media Time in Child Care Settings

Practical nutrition, physical activity and screen media time recommendations for the child care environment. This brief is for child care providers, child care health consultants, CACFP sponsors and others working in the child care setting. Download Brief (pdf)

3: Child Care & Obesity Prevention: What Policymakers Can Do

Provides key policy strategies to support higher standards for nutrition, physical activity, and screen media use in the child care setting. Includes specific actions that can be taken by federal, state, and local policymakers. Download Brief (pdf)