This study aimed to examine how food environments around family child care homes (FCCHs) are associated with the healthfulness of foods served to children. The study included cross-sectional data from a mail survey of 132 Mississippi FCCHs. Rural FCCHs with higher counts of supermarkets, convenience stores, and produce stores had lower compliance with selected best More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Neighborhood
Dietary recommendations are available about what to feed children ages 2 to 8 for optimal health, but relatively little guidance exists about how to feed those children. Because of the discrepancy between young children’s recommended and actual dietary intakes, there is a clear need for such guidance. To address this gap, Healthy Eating Research convened More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Fruits and vegetables, Home, Self-regulation, Snacks
Date: October 2021
Resource Type: Expert Panel Report
Focus Areas: Diet Quality & Healthy Weight Early Childhood
The study uses a systems science approach to identify upstream strategies that can support sustained changes in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and water in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community. This research is designed to generate information crucial for the development of robust multilevel systems recommendations that are contextually and culturally appropriate. Specific aims include: More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Head Start, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
This study seeks to explore the barriers, facilitators, and feasible strategies to increase drinking water access, availability, and intake in family childcare homes (FCCH). Specific aims include: (1) Conduct provider focus groups to determine barriers and strategies to improve water access/intake in FCCH; (2) Conduct intervention pilot with 40 providers operating FCCH in low income More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Water
The overall goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive, eLearning beverage policy training (iBevSmart) paired with eCoaching (technical assistance consultation and resources) for ECE centers in Georgia. The iBevSmart guided training features four modules on water, milk, juice, and SSBs, and includes an interactive avatar, videos, and engagement activities. The More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
Date: November 2020
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood
Identifying strategies to assist children in establishing healthy habits is essential to reduce the risk of childhood obesity. The Early Care and Education (ECE) setting is ideal for the implementation of obesity prevention practices. However, there are barriers present for implementing nutrition policies in this setting. This report explores the implementation of food and beverage More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Nutrition standards
This study aimed to determine the eLearning preferences of early care and education (ECE) teachers for an effective beverage policy training. This was a mixed methods study conducted with ECE directors and teachers in 6 regions throughout Georgia. Researchers used an eLearning survey (n = 646) along with focus groups (n = 6) and interviews More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
In July 2018 the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics released a benchmark encouraging early care and education (ECE) programs, including child care centers and family child care homes, to incorporate cultural and religious food preferences of children into meals. We examined the extent to which states were already doing so through their ECE licensing and More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool
The USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) plays a large role in supporting nutrition in child care settings, specifically targeting these benefits to low-income populations. Foods provided to children participating in CACFP programs must meet specific nutrition standards in order to be reimbursed with federal funds. This study seeks to understand how the More
Date: February 2020
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
Diet-related disparities among indigenous youth are driven, in part, by excess sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and limited access to drinking water. Water is K’é targets environmental change at early childhood education (ECE) sites and community-wide systems change to promote a Diné culture of health. ECE sites will select and implement site-based and community-level changes to address More