Approximately 2 of every 3 children in the US spend time in child care settings where they consume much of their daily nutrition. Improving the foods and beverages offered in child care settings is a known childhood obesity prevention strategy. Researchers at the Nutrition Policy Institute published a new study suggesting family child care home providers can successfully implement nutrition standards for infants and young children after completing a brief educational intervention. Family child care homes are of particular interest for obesity prevention efforts given few nutrition standards exist in California's childcare licensing regulations for these providers, and limited studies have been conducted in these settings. The pilot study included 30 licensed family child care home providers in California who spoke English or Spanish. Providers were enrolled to participate in a 2-hour in-person training on food and beverage standards and feeding practices for both infants and children in English or Spanish in 2017. Providers' adherence to the infant and child nutrition standards increased after the training, and few providers rated the standards as difficult to implement. The training was highly rated by providers. The study was published in January 2021 in the journal Global Pediatric Health. Study results are also available online in the form of a research brief. Co-authors include Lorrene Ritchie, Danielle Lee, and Klara Gurzo of the Nutrition Policy Institute, Victoria Keeton and Abbey Alkon of the UCSF School of Nursing and California Childcare Health Program, Lauren Au of the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, and Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable, previously with Nourish California at the time the study was conducted. The study was funded by a grant from the David & Lucille Packard Foundation.
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' new study of 297 licensed California child care providers that care for infants suggests that those participating in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) offered fruits and vegetables more often and sweetened yogurt less often to infants in their care compared to sites that did not participate in the CACFP. Additionally, more CACFP participants compared to those that did not participate in CACFP were in alignment with the current recommendations to not offer cow's milk to infants prior to their first birthday. However, the study also showed that CACFP participants were less likely to usually provide breastmilk to infants, suggesting the need for additional support and recommendations for CACFP participants on breastfeeding resources for providers and families. The study was conducted in 2016 prior to updates to the CACFP nutrition standards which went into effect in October 2017. Results from the study were published online ahead of print on April 29, 2020 in the Maternal and Child Health Journal. The state-wide child care study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted by NPI's Lorrene Ritchie, Danielle Lee, Klara Gurzo (currently with Stockholm University Department of Public Health Sciences), and Lilly Nhan (currently with University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health) in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation).
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' latest study of 680 licensed child care providers across California evaluating adherence to California's 2010 Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act (CA AB2084) suggests that nearly half were adherent to the policy in 2016, an increase from about one quarter shortly after the policy was implemented in 2012. The study was published in Preventing Chronic Disease. California's AB2084 policy requires licensed child care sites to (1) serve only lowfat or nonfat milk to children two years of age or older, (2) limit juice to not more than one serving per day of 100-percent juice, (3) serve no beverages with added sweeteners, either natural or artificial, and (4) make clean and safe drinking water readily available and accessible for consumption throughout the day. These requirements align with the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nutrition standards. Providers participating in CACFP and child care centers were found to be more compliant than those not participating in CACFP and family child care homes, respectively. In 2016, providers were most adherent to the sugar-sweetened beverages (97%) and 100% juice (91%) requirements, while fewer were adherent to the requirements on drinking water (77%) and milk (65%). To support increased adherence to the beverage policy, NPI collaborated with Abbey Alkon from the UC San Francisco School of Nursing and California Childcare Health Program to develop a free online training in English and Spanish for California child care providers, funded by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The statewide child care study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation).
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' latest study on the quality of beverages, meals and snacks served to young children in licensed child care settings in California suggests sites that participate in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are more likely to provide nutritious foods and beverages compared to sites that do not participate in CACFP. The study is available online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The CACFP is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture that reimburses child care institutions and family child care home providers for providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children in their care aged birth up to twelve years old. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates at the time of the study) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation.
Nutrition Policy Institute's latest study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior March 2020 issue suggests that schools across the U.S. adhered equally to the federal 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act school meal nutrition standards despite poverty level. The study was conducted using data collected in 2013-2015 from over 401 U.S. elementary and middle schools as part of the Healthy Communities Study. The study was lead by Lauren Au, NPI associate researcher, in collaboration with NPI researchers Lorrene Ritchie, Klara Gurzo, Marisa Tsai, Janice Kao, Wendi Gosliner and Patricia Guenther from the University of Utah Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology. Results from the study are available for free download until April 24, 2020.