title: Childhood Obesity Prevention in Childcare Settings: the Potential of Policy and Environmental Change Interventions.
abstract: Current obesity rates in young children are a serious public health concern; developing and implementing obesity prevention interventions in childcare settings is a promising avenue to address this issue. In recent years, there has been increasing focus on environmental and policy change interventions for this setting. Improving access to and quality of outdoor play spaces and implementing the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) are two promising environmental change strategies in this setting. Laws at the local, state, and federal level have also been implemented; New York City and Delaware are two jurisdictions that have passed policies and provided preliminary evidence of the potential of policy interventions to change child outcomes. A combination of programmatic, environmental, and policy change strategies will likely be most effective in maximizing the potential of childcare settings to promote healthy weight in children.
authors.affiliation: College of Health Sciences, Arcadia University, 450 South Easton Road, Glenside, PA, 19038, USA. LessardL@Arcadia.edu.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lessard
authors.affiliation: New York University Wagner School of Public Service, 295 Lafayette St, New York, NY, 10012, USA. andrew.breck@nyumc.org.|New York University School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA. andrew.breck@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Breck
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D003691:Delaware; D004032:Diet; D004779:Environment Design; D015444:Exercise; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011640:Public Policy
keywords: Childcare; Nutrition; Obesity; Physical activity; Policy interventions; Preschool; Prevention