Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to determine the obesogenic practices in all-day
child-care centers caring for preschool-aged children. This study used a cross-sectional,
self-reported survey mailed to centers across Oklahoma (n=314). Frequency of responses
and χ2 were calculated comparing region and star rating. Items where the majority of centers
frequently report best practices include: daily fruits served (76%), daily nonfried
vegetables served (71%), rarely/never served sugary drinks (92%), rarely/never used
food to encourage good behaviors (88%), staff join children at table most of the time
(81%), staff rarely eat different foods in view of children (69%), visible self-serve
or request availability of water (93%), regular informal communication about healthy
eating (86%), opportunities for outdoor play (95%), not withholding activity for punishment
(91%), accessible play equipment (59% to 80% for different types of equipment), and
minimization of extended sitting time (78%). Practices where centers can improve include
increasing variety of vegetables (18%), reducing frequency of high-fat meats served
(74% serve more than once per week), increasing high-fiber and whole-grain foods (35%
offer daily), serving style of “seconds” (28% help kids determine whether they are
still hungry), nonfood holiday celebrations (44% use nonfood treats), having toys
and books that encourage healthy eating (27%) and physical activity (25%) in all rooms
in the center, a standard nutrition (21%) and physical education (50%) curriculum,
and following a written physical activity policy (43%). Practitioners can use these
data to develop benchmarks and interventions, as this was the first study to assess
statewide obesogenic practices in child care.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Obesity prevalence in low-income preschool children in Oklahoma.Graduate Research Education and Technology Symposium. 2011 (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008.JAMA. 2010; 303: 242-249
- Overweight is associated with decreased cognitive functioning among school-age children and adolescents.Obesity. 2008; 16: 1809-1815
- Childhood overweight and elementary school outcomes.Int J Obes. 2006; 30: 1449-1460
- Health consequences of obesity in youth: Childhood predictors of adult disease.Pediatrics. 1998; 101: 518-525
- Racial differences in the tracking of childhood BMI to adulthood.Obes Res. 2005; 13: 928-935
- Tracking of childhood overweight into adulthood: A systematic review of the literature.Obes Rev. 2008; 9: 474-488
- Utility of childhood BMI in the prediction of adulthood disease: Comparison of national and international references.Obes Res. 2005; 13: 1106-1115
- The Future Costs of Obesity: National and State Estimate of the Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses.United Health Foundation; American Public Health Association; and Partnership for Prevention, Minnetonka, MN2009
- Effects of child care policy and environment on physical activity.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010; 42: 520-525
- Interventions for increasing physical activity at child care.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010; 42: 526-534
- The role of child care settings in obesity prevention.Future Child. 2006; 16: 143-168
- Licensing Requirements for Childcare Centers.in: Oklahoma Child Care Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Oklahoma City, OK2009 (84–08)
- Standard 5: NAEYC Accreditation Criteria for Health Standard.(Accessed November 2011)
- Child and Adult Care Food Program.(Accessed September 2011)
- America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009.(Accessed June 2010)
- Child Care and Early Education Arrangements of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers: 2001 (NCES 2006-039).2005 (Washington, DC)
- Do effects of early child care extend to age 15 years?.Child Dev. 2010; 81: 737-756
- Reaching for the Stars and Child Care Quality.Early Childhood Collaborative of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK2003
- Measures of the food environment: A compilation of the literature, 1990-2007.Am J Prev Med. 2009; 36: S124-S133
- Dietary intakes in North Carolina child-care centers: Are children meeting current recommendations?.J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 718-721
- Dietary intake at child-care centers and away: Are parents and care providers working as partners or at cross-purposes?.J Am Diet Assoc. 1999; 99: 950-954
- Nutrition practices and children's dietary intakes at 40 child-care centers in New York City.J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111: 1391-1397
- Low levels of objectively measured physical activity in preschoolers in child care.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010; 42: 502-507
- The effects of increasing outdoor play time on physical activity in Latino preschool children.Int J Pediatr Obes. 2007; 2: 153-158
- Physical activity among children attending preschools.Pediatrics. 2004; 114: 1258-1263
- An intervention to promote healthy weight: Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) theory and design.Prev Chronic Dis. 2007; 4: A67
- Reliability and validity of a nutrition and physical activity environmental self-assessment for child care.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2007; 4: 29
- Claritas Market Place Basic Demographics.2009
- Discovering Statistics Using SPSS.3rd ed. Sage Publications, London, UK2009
- What role can child-care settings play in obesity prevention?.J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111: 1343-1362
- Nutrition and child care: A healthy head start.J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111: 1282
- Healthy People 2020.(Accessed June 28, 2012)
- The childcare environment and children's physical activity.Am J Prev Med. 2008; 34: 23-29
- Interaction between physical environment, social environment, and child characteristics in determining physical activity at child care.Health Psychol. 2011; 30: 84-90
Biography
S. B. Sisson is an assistant professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Biography
K. B. May is a graduate student, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Biography
J. E. Campbell is an assistant professor of research, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Biography
D. R. Brittain is an assistant professor, School of Human Sciences, Community Health Program, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Biography
L. A. Monroe is a senior research and policy associate, Early Childhood Education Institute, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK
Biography
S. H. Guss is project director, Early Childhood Education Institute, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK
Biography
J. L. Ladner is assistant director, Tulsa Educare Inc, Tulsa, OK
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 19, 2012
Accepted:
April 24,
2012
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT There is no funding to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
