Published: September 2018

Journal: Childhood Obesity

See more related research

Share


Childhood Obesity published a special theme journal issue on early care and education programs (ECE) policy and practice. It unites a group of outstanding researchers focusing on the role of policies and practices within ECE programs to support healthy practices. Each article addresses one or more important influences, including public policies, such as the federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) or state licensing standards, facility-level policies for physical activity or screen-time, and food procurement practices, to mention a few. This supplement is the first to address early care and education settings, both child care centers and family child care homes, to illustrate and guide best practices for healthy weight development. The special supplement was supported by Healthy Eating Research and the Early Childhood working group, a collaboration between HER and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN). The supplement is dedicated to Susie Nanney, a champion of promoting population health and reducing health disparities, who worked to improve children’s and family health in underserved and rural communities, including in early care and education settings.

Related Research

May 2026

A Pediatric Perspective on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines

Clear, evidence-based guidance on what foods and beverages children and adolescents should consume—and in what amounts—is foundational for promoting healthy growth and preventing diet-related chronic disease across the life course. Yet many children and adolescents in the US continue to have diets of poor nutritional quality. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), issued every 5 More

April 2026

Policy Priorities and Research Needs for Advancing Healthy Eating: A 2026-2027 Research Agenda for U.S. Children and Adolescents

Given recent changes to nutrition policies and programs and the food environment landscape, the need for new evidence on how these changes impact nutrition, health, and food access is greater than ever. HER has also published a research agenda intended to provide a blueprint for immediate (i.e., 12-18 month) research needs to inform strategies to More

November 2025

Forecasting WIC funding needs: Supporting families, strengthening access

WIC serves more than 50% of all infants born in the U.S. The goal of this study is to build a forecasting model to estimate national WIC funding needs under various policy and economic conditions through fiscal year 2027. The model will also be designed to allow for updates to forecast funding needs for future More