This brief summarizes the published Cochrane Review, "Healthy Eating Interventions Delivered in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings for Improving the Diet of Children Aged Six Months to Six Years," by S. L. Yoong, M. Lum, L. Wolfenden, J. Jackson, C. Barnes, A. E. Hall, S. McCrabb, N. Pearson, C. Lane, J. Z. Jones, E. Nolan, L.…

Through a community-focused needs assessment conducted in rural Appalachia, we gauged perceptions of facilitators and barriers related to healthful eating and physical activity for young children and identified suggestions for improvement. Thirty-seven key informant interviews and three caregiver focus group sessions were coded and analyzed for…

Background: Obesity affects nearly 17% of US children and youth 2-19?years old and 10% of infants and toddlers under the age of 2?years. One strategy for addressing obesity is to discourage sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Compared with their older school-aged counterparts, children =5?years depend largely on parents for the purchase…

Early childhood educators currently provide content focused learning opportunities for children in the areas of well-being and environmental education. However, these are usually seen as discrete content areas and educators are challenged with responding to children's interests in popular-culture inspired food products given these influence their…

Background. The family and home environment is an influential antecedent of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to pilot test The Enabling Mothers to Prevent Pediatric Obesity through Web-Based Education and Reciprocal Determinism (EMPOWER) intervention; a newly developed, theory-based, online program for prevention of childhood…

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Enabling Mothers to Prevent Pediatric Obesity through Web-Based Education and Reciprocal Determinism (EMPOWER) intervention at 1-year, postintervention follow-up. Method: A mixed between-within subjects design was used to evaluate the trial. Independent variables included a…

Objective: To evaluate associations between children's and their mothers' fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and children's FV intake and weight status. Methods: Mothers (n = 39) residing in Philadelphia, PA completed a subsection of the Diet History Questionnaire assessing their FV intake. Mothers also completed this questionnaire to estimate FV…

Objectives: To determine effects of the "5-4-3-2-1 Go" community social marketing campaign on obesity risk factors. Methods: We randomly assigned 524 parents of 3- to 7-year-old children to receive "5-4-3-2-1 Go" counseling or not. We surveyed parents about "5-4-3-2-1 Go!" behaviors and perceptions of children's behaviors at baseline and one year…

Television viewing has been linked to the increasing problem of obesity in young children, as well as to the development of inappropriate eating behaviours, yet the mechanism behind this link remains unclear. This study investigated the messages about food and eating that appear in a sample of preschool children's television shows and found that…

The detrimental effects of physical inactivity within children have enormous personal health consequences. These health conditions have the potential to impact the economic vitality of society as a whole. Studies have indicated that inactive children are far more likely to suffer from obesity, type II diabetes, and hypertension than their…

News reports calling attention to the steady increase in the number of overweight adults have become an accepted part of our media landscape. Worse still, warnings continue that more and more young children, like the adults who care for them, are carrying too much weight. Unfortunately, this bad news about our growing obesity problem isn't just…

Dramatic improvements have been made in the lives of children over the last century. Even so, many health and safety challenges remain unresolved. For example, unintentional injuries claim the lives of more children each year than any other cause of death. In addition, a panel of pediatricians reported that the incidence of childhood obesity…

The infant and toddler years provide a window of opportunity to establish healthy habits as part of daily routines and activities that prevent childhood obesity. Early care and education programs have the opportunity to make a significant impact on physical development when they promote healthy eating and physical activity in their daily routines.…

"Food insecurity," which is the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times because of economic constraints, afflicts 40.6% of low-income households with children. Research shows that living in a food-insecure household can lead to negative health and developmental consequences for young children, including obesity.…

Individuals with Down syndrome typically have low fitness levels and obesity despite data that indicate physiological gains from physical activity and exercise interventions. Low fitness levels and obesity in individuals with Down syndrome may be related to sedentary lifestyles, social and recreational opportunities, or low motivation to be…