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Journals > Journal: Childhood Obesity > Article: The Role of Child Care Settings in Obesity Prevention

Journal Issue: Childhood Obesity Volume 16 Number 1 Spring 2006

Conclusions

The early years spent in child care are crucially important to a child's development. High-quality child care and early education help ensure that a child will develop skills and enter school ready to learn.¹⁰⁸ For a young child, health and education are inseparable. Eating nutritious foods and engaging in physical activity on a daily basis are two essential elements for healthy well-being in the early years. Child care settings can and should provide an environment in which young children are offered nutritious foods and regular physical activity through structured and unstructured play so that they learn these healthful lifestyle behaviors at an early age. Child care homes and centers offer many opportunities to form and support healthful eating habits and physical activity patterns in young children. Thus they can play a critical role in laying a foundation for healthy weight. The number of children in the United States aged four and younger is expected to grow by 1.2 million over the next decade, for a 6 percent rise. The number of working parents who depend on child care services is also expected to grow.¹⁰⁹ To help stem the childhood obesity epidemic, the nation must pay more attention to the food and physical activity offered in various child care settings.

Contents
• Summary
• Introduction
• Changing Trends in Maternal Employment
• Child Care Settings
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Obesity-Prevention Interventions in Preschool Settings
• Head Start
• Regulation of Child Care Programs
• Regulations Governing Food, Physical Activity, and Media Use
• Quality Child Care
• Recommendations for Child Care Settings
• Conclusions
• Endnotes

Figures & Tables
• Table 1