This article describes obesity prevention activities directed at staff, parents and community partners in Head Start, the United States’ largest federally-funded early childhood education program. On the bases of survey data, researchers found that 60% of responding Head Start programs trained staff about feeding children, and 63% trained staff about children’s gross motor activity. Eighty-four More
This article details findings gleaned from a national survey of all directors of Head Start, a program that provides early childhood education to nearly one million lower-income children, approximately one third of whom are obese. With respect to implementing policies and practices to address obesity, program directors identified three key barriers: lack of time, money More
This article examines Pennsylvania’s response to the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act of 2004. The analysis reveals that improvements were made to the nutritional quality of a la carte food choices offered in conjunction with school meal programs, according to respondents. However, the implementation of wellness policies in Pennsylvania was More
This article explores whether new policies restricting ‘competitive’ foods and beverages in schools affected the increasing rates of overweight children in California. While the authors find that the rate of increase of overweight children did decrease significantly since the policies’ implementation, the extent to which the policies contributed to this rate of decrease in childhood More
Competitive foods, or foods and beverages sold outside of the school lunch program, are often cited as a contributing factor to the high rates of childhood obesity in the U.S. This article reviews the current literature on the availability and nutritional content of competitive foods in schools and the effects of these foods on students’ More
This commentary uses a public health perspective to review the concept of healthy lifestyles for prevention of childhood obesity and explore how healthy-lifestyle initiatives are promoted through public-private partnerships. Healthy lifestyles encourage individuals and populations to consume a nutritionally balanced, diverse diet and to engage in regular physical activity to achieve and maintain health and More
This paper evaluates the impact of changes in state soft drink taxes on body mass index (BMI), obesity and overweight. Researchers found that weight responds to changes in soft drink taxes; an increase of 1% in the state soft drink tax rate leads to a decrease in BMI of 0.003 points and the influence of More
This article finds that mobile food vendors contribute to after-school snacking among children, and should be considered part of the school food environment. Based on data collected in Oakland, CA in the spring of 2008, researchers found a wide variety of vendors near schools. They include vendors who sell low-nutrient, calorie-dense items, such as ice More
There is growing interest in the role of the environment in promoting or hindering healthy eating. It has been suggested that individual change is more likely to be facilitated and sustained if the environment within which choices are made supports healthful food options. While there has been a shift in attention to environmental and policy More
This article summarizes obesity prevention practices and environments within Head Start, the United States’ largest federally-funded early childhood education program. On the basis of survey data, researchers found that most Head Start programs report doing more to support healthy eating and gross motor activity than required by federal performance standards in these areas.
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