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Summary
Pages 1-16

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From page 1...
... The first years of life are important to health and well-being throughout the life span. Preventing obesity in infants and young children holds promise for enabling significant gains toward both reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity and reducing obesity in adulthood.
From page 2...
... The committee also drew on the extensive experience and expertise of its members in child development, obesity prevention, child health, nutrition, infant development, physical activity, pediatrics, child psychology and behavior, child care regulations and policy, food marketing and media, health disparities, family health, federal and state children's programs, and community health. In addition to formulating policy recommendations, the committee identi fied potential actions that could be taken to implement those recommendations.
From page 3...
... In conducting its task, this committee will: • Draw on primary and secondary sources to assess evidence on the: -- major factors affecting obesity risk in young children, including the relationship with caregiv ers, physical activity opportunities and barriers, access to healthy foods, social determinants, and other important factors; -- major factors in the first 5 years that affect attitudes, preferences, and behaviors important to overweight and obesity; and -- relationships between elevated weight status and excess weight gain in young children and their health and well-being during childhood and risk for obesity-related comorbidities, across the life course. • Identify settings, existing programs, and policy opportunities for childhood obesity prevention efforts in the first 5 years; • Consider the inclusion of illustrative case studies; and • Make recommendations on early childhood obesity prevention policies across a range of settings and types of programs, taking into account potential distinctions between policy recommendations for the first 2 years (birth to 2 years)
From page 4...
... CONTEXT FOR THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS This report and the committee's recommendations address the assessment of obe sity risk through growth monitoring, as well as key factors that influence obesity risk in young children -- physical activity, healthy eating, marketing and screen time, and sleep. Although the committee's charge was to focus on children from birth to age 5, the report also includes a discussion of prenatal influences to high Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies 4
From page 5...
... The relationships among weight status, physical activity, and sedentary behavior are not fully understood in young children, but some evidence suggests that higher levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of excessive weight gain over time in younger children, and similar evidence is extensive in older children and adults. The committee's recommendations in this area call for increasing young children's physical activity and decreasing their sedentary behavior in child care settings and call on health care providers and educators to counsel parents on how to accomplish these goals at home.
From page 6...
... There is strong evidence that expo sure to television advertising is associated with adiposity in young children, and substantial screen time also is associated with obesity. For these reasons, the com mittee recommends that health care providers counsel parents and other caregivers of children not to permit television, computers, or other digital media devices in children's sleeping areas.
From page 7...
... CONCLUSION Obesity prevention requires the efforts of many sectors to improve relevant poli cies and practices. Interactions among institutions, programs, settings, and families can be effective in promoting and sustaining a healthy environment for young children.
From page 8...
... GOAL: INCREASE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN YOUNG CHILDREN. Recommendation 3-1 Child care regulatory agencies should require child care providers and early childhood educators to provide infants, toddlers, and preschool children with opportunities to be physically active throughout the day.
From page 9...
... Potential actions include • ensuring that indoor and outdoor recreation areas encourage all children, including infants, to be physically active; • allowing public access to indoor and outdoor recreation areas located in public education facilities; and • ensuring that indoor and outdoor recreation areas provide opportunities for physical activity that meet current standards for accessible design under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
From page 10...
... Potential actions include • colleges and universities that offer degree programs in child development, early childhood education, nutrition, nursing, physical education, public health, and medicine requiring content within course work on how to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior in young children; • child care regulatory agencies encouraging child care and early childhood education programs to seek consultation yearly from an expert in early childhood physical activity; • child care regulatory agencies requiring child care providers and early childhood educators to be trained in ways to encourage physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior in young children through certification and continuing education; and • national organizations that provide certification and continuing education for dietitians, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals (including the American Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics) including content on how to counsel parents about children's physical activity and sedentary behaviors.
From page 11...
... Recommendation 4-2 To ensure that child care facilities provide a variety of healthy foods and age appropriate portion sizes in an environment that encourages children and staff to consume a healthy diet, child care regulatory agencies should require that all meals, snacks, and beverages served by early childhood programs be consistent with the Child and Adult Care Food Program meal patterns and that safe drinking water be available and accessible to the children. 11 Summary
From page 12...
... GOAL: CREATE A HEALTHY EATING ENVIRONMENT THAT IS RESPONSIVE TO CHILDREN'S HUNGER AND FULLNESS CUES. Recommendation 4-4 State child care regulatory agencies should require that child care providers and early childhood educators practice responsive feeding.
From page 13...
... Potential actions include • child care settings limiting screen time, including television, cell phones, or digital media, for pre schoolers (aged 2–5) to less than 30 minutes per day for children in half-day programs or less than 1 hour per day for those in full-day programs; • health care providers counseling parents and children's caregivers to permit no more than a total of 2 hours per day of screen time, including television, cell phones, or digital media, for preschoolers, including time spent in child care settings and early childhood education programs; • health care providers counseling parents to coordinate with child care providers and early childhood education programs to ensure that total screen time limits are not exceeded between at-home and child care or early education settings; and • state and local government agencies providing training, tools, and technical assistance for child care providers, early childhood education program teachers and assistants, health care providers, and com munity service agency personnel in how to provide effective counseling of parents regarding the importance of reducing screen time for young children.
From page 14...
... GOAL: USE SOCIAL MARKETING TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT INFORMATION AND STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN I NFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD. Recommendation 5-4 The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in cooperation with state and local government agencies and interested private entities, should establish a sustained social marketing program to provide pregnant women and caregivers of children from birth to age 5 with consistent, practical information on the risk factors for obesity in young children and strategies for preventing overweight and obesity in this population.
From page 15...
... Potential actions include • creating environments that ensure restful sleep, such as no screen media in rooms where children sleep and low noise and light levels during napping; • encouraging sleep-promoting behaviors and practices, such as calming nap routines; • encouraging practices that promote child self-regulation of sleep, including putting infants to sleep drowsy but awake; and • seeking consultation yearly from an expert on healthy sleep durations and practices. Recommendation 6-2 Health and education professionals should be trained in how to counsel parents about their children's age-appropriate sleep durations.


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