Oral

Currently, about 10 percent of infants and toddlers have high weights for length and slightly over 20 percent of children aged 2 to 5 are already overweight or obese. The first years of life are critically important to health and well-being throughout the life span, and preventing obesity in infants and young children holds promise for enabling significant gains toward reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity and reducing obesity in adulthood. The environment that surrounds children profoundly affects their development and obesity risk in the first years of life. It is important to recognize that young children's daily activities and health status are dependent upon decisions made by the adults who care for them. Young children spend substantial amounts of time eating, sleeping and playing at home, but they also spend time in child care and early childhood education programs, doctors' offices and clinics, indoor and outdoor recreation sites, and travelling from one location to another. These environments are established by parents and other family members, child care providers and early childhood educators, health professionals, community planners, the private sector, and policy makers at all levels. In the last year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will have published two reports targeted to those who have the opportunity to influence the environments in which young children develop and grow. These reports, Child and Adult Care Food Program: Aligning Dietary Guidance for All (November 2010) and Obesity Prevention Policies for Young Children (June 2011), make important recommendations for improving nutrition and preventing childhood obesity in the first years of life. Both reports were developed by IOM study committees made up of public health professionals, child care providers, child development specialists, child nutrition program experts, policy makers, and childhood obesity and nutrition researchers. In this session, members of these two committees will present study recommendations and discuss the implications of their application in various settings.

Session Objectives: (1) Identify major changes that were recommended in Meal Requirements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program and explain the rationale for the changes; (2) Discuss key actions, rationales, and actors in the implementation of early childhood obesity prevention policies.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)