Preschool is a crucial time for obesity prevention, as children are developing eating and physical activity habits. A lack of physical activity at preschool may contribute more to overweight children than parental influences such as modeling and supporting physical activity or providing fitness equipment in the home. Let Me Play is a comprehensive…

The federal school nutrition programs are the keystones to the diets of millions of American children. Schools have the opportunity to support healthy nutrition habits early in life by creating environments that encourage the consumption of healthy foods and beverages. This paper provides resources which offer general information about the…

Afterschool programs have continued to grow in sophistication, increase their offerings and improve quality. As the role of afterschool programs has evolved from primarily providing a safe and supervised environment to a resource that provides a host of supports for their students, programs have become valuable partners in helping students reach…

Afterschool programs continue to make advances when it comes to providing students with nutritious foods, keeping them physically fit and promoting health. Such programs have great potential to help prevent obesity and instill lifelong healthy habits, serving more than 10 million children and youth across America, with more than 19 million more…

Child- and family-serving programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) design and conduct interventions to improve the health of their clients through better nutrition. But these programs present a significant opportunity to improve physical activity levels in the preschool population as well,…

One-third of the population of US children is considered obese and two-thirds of the adult population falls into the same category. These figures have tripled over the last 30 years. This demonstrates that the existing strategies to combat obesity do not work and it is time to look for alternatives. The recommendation is to turn the problem into a…

This article presents the results of a survey by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) on the year-long adoption of wellness policies of 15,000 local schools nationwide. Released September 5, SNA's "From Cupcakes to Carrots: Local Wellness Policies One Year Later" was compiled from a survey of 976 school nutrition directors conducted in May 2007.…

Studies show that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Today, more than 23 million American children--or nearly one in every three--are overweight or obese. If childhood obesity is left unaddressed, a generation of individuals could face health, social, and economic challenges that promise to stress government…

Mary Story, Karen Kaphingst, and Simone French argue that researchers and policymakers focused on childhood obesity have paid insufficient attention to child care. Although child care settings can be a major force in shaping children's dietary intake, physical activity, and energy balance--and thus in combating the childhood obesity…

This report documents the proceedings of a 1998 symposium on the causes and prevention of childhood obesity sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion to focus attention on the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States and the link between nutrition and health. Following opening…