Child Care Wellness Study on Nutrition and Physical Activity

Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity in Child Care Centers

The study is an evaluation of a nutrition and physical activity intervention in child care centers in NC, CA, and CT.

The broad, long term goal is to develop a reproducible nutrition and physical activity intervention which utilizes child care consultant nutrition specialists to reduce the risk of overweight among children in regulated out-of-home child care. The objectives are:

1. To train Child Care Health consultants (CCHCs) to become specialists in nutrition consultation in child care such that they will increase their daily consultation activities on nutrition, physical activity, and childhood overweight,
2. To increase child care staff and parental knowledge of and positive attitudes toward providing healthy foods, appropriate portions of foods, and appropriate levels of physical activity for young children in out-of-home child care centers.,
3. To strengthen child care center policies, procedures, practices and behaviors, regarding providing healthy foods, appropriate portions of foods, and appropriate levels of physical activity for young children in out-of-home child care centers, and
4. To improve dietary intake and levels of physical activity, and to prevent increases in overweight and the risk of overweight as determined by body mass indexes among children in out-of-home child care centers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• In each of the three geographical areas (NC, CA, CT), two pairs of community-based child care centers in urban areas with English-speaking directors, kitchens, and with 50-60 children between the ages of 2 and 5 years, 35% of whom are eligible for subsidy.

Exclusion Criteria:

• If the randomly selected child care center has an open case of child abuse or neglect.