Focus Area: Early Childhood

Evaluating Child-Care Licensing Laws, Policies, and Programs for Nutrition, Active Play, and Screen Time

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This study will address the research gap in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of child-care regulation across jurisdictions regarding nutrition, active play, and screen time. Specific aims of the project are to: 1) create and implement a standardized child-care regulatory policy content coding system for key obesity-related indicators; 2) develop an understanding of the child-care More

State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems: Analysis of Strategies to Support Achievement of Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Best Practices in Early Care and Education Settings

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In the 1990s, states began developing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a structural approach to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) programs. Nemours’ experience implementing obesity prevention efforts in nine states has demonstrated that QRIS systems may be leveraged to promote childhood obesity prevention in addition to school readiness and More

Barriers to Equity in Nutritional Health for U.S. Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Literature

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This review summarizes growing evidence of disparities in the social and physical environments of U.S. children and adolescents that likely contribute to increased risk for obesity and poor nutrition. The review examines literature on disparities in nutrition and healthy food access in school, child-care, and residential neighborhood environments, food production and marketing practices, and cultural More

Policy Improves What Beverages are Served to Young Children in Child Care

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In 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began requiring that child-care sites participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) make drinking water available throughout the day and serve only low-fat or non-fat milk to children ages 2 years and older. In 2012, the California Healthy Beverages in Child Care law additionally required More

Evaluating the Impact of a Web-Based Intervention Designed for Child-Care Providers to Improve Their Food and Physical Activity Environments

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The Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) was developed in 2002 to help child-care providers improve their food and physical activity environments. Evaluations of NAP SACC have shown it to be effective, but the program’s reliance on trained technical assistance professionals and on in-person delivery limit its potential for large-scale dissemination. More

Assessing Nutrition and Physical Activity Practices and Policies of Child-Care Centers in States with the Highest Obesity Rates

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This study will evaluate nutrition and physical activity practices and policies of licensed child-care centers that enroll 3- to 5-year-old children in the three Southern states with the highest childhood obesity rates—Mississippi, Georgia, and Kentucky—and assess differences in practices and policies by geographic region (e.g., rural/urban), center characteristics (e.g., Child and Adult Care Food Program/non-Child More

Expert and Stakeholder Consensus on Priorities for Obesity Prevention Research in Early Care and Education Settings

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Early care and education (ECE) programs are important settings for obesity prevention, but limited research provides insufficient evidence upon which to base policy decisions, practice guidelines, or mobilized efforts to improve healthy eating and physical activity in these settings. In September 2011, a multidisciplinary group of experts met to identify and prioritize research directions for More