Keyword: Child Care/Preschool

Moving from Policy to Practice for Early Childhood Obesity Prevention: A Nationwide Evaluation of State Implementation Strategies in Childcare

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Policies requiring childcare settings to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and limited screentime have the potential to improve young children’s health. However, policies may have limited impact without effective implementation strategies to promote policy adoption. In this mixed-methods study, we evaluated the type, quality, and dose of implementation strategies for state-level childcare licensing regulations focused More

Food Outlet Density, Distance, and Food Quality Offered to Preschool-Aged Children at Family Child Care Homes

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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

Evidence-Based Recommendations and Best Practices for Promoting Healthy Eating Behaviors in Children 2 to 8 Years

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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

Developing Policy and Environmental Approaches to Sustain an Early Head Start Healthy Beverage Program Among Hispanic Families of Infants and Toddlers

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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

Understanding and increasing water availability and accessibility in family child care homes to improve young children’s water and sugary beverage intake

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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

Implementing eLearning to Improve Healthy Beverage Policy Implementation Among Early Care and Education Teachers

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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

Serving Their Needs: A Qualitative Examination of Nutrition Policy Implementation in the Early Care and Education Setting

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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

State Regulations to Support Children’s Cultural and Religious Food Preferences in Early Care and Education

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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

Understanding the lost opportunity of the Child and Adult Care Food Program in improving child nutrition and reducing health inequities

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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