The Impact of the CHILE Intervention on the Food Served in Head Start Centers in Rural New Mexico.
The Child Health Initiative for Lifelong Eating and Exercise is a multicomponent obesity-prevention intervention, which was evaluated among Head Start (HS) centers in American Indian and predominantly Hispanic communities in rural New Mexico. This study examines the intervention's foodservice outcomes: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, discretionary fats, added sugars, and fat from milk served in meals and snacks.



Sixteen HS centers were randomized to intervention/comparison groups, following stratification by ethnicity and preintervention median body mass index of enrolled children. The foodservice component included quarterly trainings for foodservice staff about food purchasing and preparation. Foods served were evaluated before and after the 2-year intervention, in the fall 2008 and spring 2010.



The intervention significantly decreased fat provided through milk and had no significant effect on fruit, vegetables and whole-grain servings, discretionary fats, and added sugar served in HS meals and snacks. When effect modification by site ethnicity was examined, the effect on fat provided through milk was only found in American Indian sites.



Foodservice interventions can reduce the amount of fat provided through milk served in HS. More research is needed regarding the implementation of foodservice interventions to improve the composition of foods served in early education settings.
Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1196, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899. a.b.morshed@wustl.edu.
Alexandra B
AB
Morshed
Department of Pediatrics, Director, Prevention Research Center, University of New Mexico, MSC 11 6145, Albuquerque, NM 87131. sdavis@salud.unm.edu.
Sally M
SM
Davis
Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center, MSC 11 6145, Albuquerque, NM 87131. pkeane@salud.unm.edu.
Patricia C
PC
Keane
Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, MSC 10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131. omyers@salud.unm.edu.
Orrin B
OB
Myers
Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. smishra@salud.unm.edu.
Shiraz I
SI
Mishra
D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005522:Food Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005523:Food Supply; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D009516:New Mexico; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013192:Staff Development
American Indians; Hispanic Americans; child; obesity prevention; preschool; school foodservice