Building Blocks for Healthy Preschoolers

Building Blocks for Healthy Preschoolers: Child Care and Family Models

Pediatric obesity, a defining health problem of the century, leads to long-term health disparities. This application evaluates strategies to prevent health disparities early in life by developing environmental wellness-related interventions focused on child-care center staff and families.

Childcare centers provide an excellent opportunity to build healthy dietary and physical activity lifestyle habits and avoid the rapid weight gain that leads to health disparities. Building on a statewide survey among childcare centers and a pilot evaluation of an environmental intervention, this 3-cell randomized trial evaluates the impact of a staff-led wellness intervention and a staff-led and family-focused intervention, against a control condition.

The intervention trial will be conducted in 48-55 childcare centers throughout Maryland, enrolling 864 children age 30-54 months from childcare centers serving low-income families. The aims are:

1. to examine the impact of the wellness intervention individually and combined with the family intervention versus control on BMI z-score, food preferences and knowledge, and physical activity among children
2. to examine the sustainability of the interventions
3. to examine whether changes in outcomes measures for children's BMI z-score, gross motor skills, food preferences and knowledge, and physical activity are mediated by changes in the childcare staff wellness-related attitudes and behaviors and/or parent wellness-related attitudes and behaviors (exploratory).

Findings from the trial will inform programs and policies in childcare centers to prevent obesity and reduce disparities, and will be disseminated locally, regionally, and nationally through conferences, information briefs, social media, and peer-reviewed journal articles. The overall objective is to promote statewide strategies that reduce pediatric obesity and the long-term health disparities.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Preschooler 30-54 months
• Caregiver and childcare staff must be at least 18 years old
• Childcare center staff members willing to participate
• Licensed childcare centers serving low-income communities
• Children attending participating childcare centers (at least 3 days per week)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers and staff who do not speak or read English
• Childcare staff and preschoolers with health problems that would interfere with participation in physical activities