Early childhood is an optimal time for establishing healthy eating habits which may prevent disease later in life. In Georgia, the child obesity rate?hovers at 13% with the majority being children from low-income Black or Hispanic families. Currently, the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" recommend children aged 2-5 consume 1-1.5 cups…

Background: Because healthy habits are established early in life, it is important to teach young children about foods that contribute to a healthy diet. One of the strategies recommended by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines is to implement educational programs in community settings such as child care and preschool settings. Head Start is one such…

Background: Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America, affecting millions of children from early childhood to adolescence. Childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last three decades (CDC, 2016b). Additionally, the obesity epidemic is reaching our nation's youngest children; it was recently reported that over 20% of 2- to 5-year-old…

In hypothetical playmate preference tasks, obese figures are rarely picked up as friends. This study aims to observe what happens in real life and examine the relationship between body-size and social status in children. Four-hundred and fourteen children aged 5, 7 and 9 years were given a sociometric test. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of each child…

Background: Long-term evaluation studies reveal that high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs that include a lifestyle component predict later adult health outcomes. The purpose of this article is to characterize the nutrition and physical activity (PA) practices, including implementation difficulty and barriers, of licensed center-…

Children's obesity rates have increased substantially over the past several decades, due in part to unhealthy eating habits. About 75% of preschool-aged children consume fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended for health. Because children begin developing eating habits during early childhood, obesity prevention programs are increasingly…

Background: Schools may be an effective avenue for interventions that prevent childhood obesity. "I am Moving I am Learning/Choosy Kids"© (IMIL/CK) is a curriculum recommended by Head Start (HS) for education in nutrition, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle habits. Methods: We formed an academic-community partnership (ACP), the…

Early childhood obesity is a serious worldwide problem, and fundamental movement skills (FMS) are very important factors in human movement. Thus, several advanced studies have examined the associations between FMS and body mass index (BMI). The purpose of this study was to investigate BMI and FMS (locomotion and object control skills) in Korean…

This program evaluation assessed the implementation of Project PEAS toward improving health care and related outcomes for students and their families at Fonwood, Laurenzo, and Mistral early childhood centers. Among the 1,170 students enrolled at targeted schools during the 2018-2019 academic year, 356 were provided health-related services, such as…

Background: One in four preschool-age children in the United States are currently overweight or obese. Previous studies have shown that caregivers of this age group often have difficulty accurately recognizing their child's weight status. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with accurate/inaccurate perception of child body…

Objective: This study investigated the feasibility of delivering health-related short text messages to parents with the goal of reducing obesity risk among their children aged 3--5 years. Design: Quasi-experimental design involving one experimental group of 17 parents. Setting: Rural American Indian reservation. Methods: During the 5-week…

Obesity rates among preschool-aged children have doubled in the past 10 years, and 60% of these children spend the majority of their day in childcare facilities. Few studies have examined the quality of nutrition and physical activity practices in childcare centers as compared to family childcare homes. The purpose of this study is to determine if…

Childhood overweight remains a major public health problem and innovative nutrition education programs are still needed. Thus, the "Set the Pace" is a nutrition education DVD for Head Start parents which provides visual nutrition education and physical activities to incorporate in their daily routines. (Contains 1 table.)

Background: 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,…

Mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in school readiness and health outcomes, particularly obesity, among preschool-aged children are complex and poorly understood. Obesity can induce changes in proteins in the circulation that contribute to the negative impact of obesity on health; such changes may relate to cognitive and emotion…