Oral

As the prevalence of overweight has increased in young children, health officials and researchers strive to understand the nutrition and physical activity and nutrition environment in childcare and identify ways that policies can be strengthened to promote healthy weight. During this session speakers will discuss methods to measure the food and physical activity policies and environments in child care centers and the challenges and opportunities of promoting healthy eating and physical activity in these settings. Speakers will discuss their efforts to evaluation nutrition and physical activity in child care centers in Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, and nationwide.

Session Objectives: 1) Identify challenges to offering nutritious food and physical activity in childcare settings. 2) Explore policies and interventions that may improve quality food and physical activity in childcare programs. 3) Discuss best practices for research and evaluation of nutrition and physical activity based programs and policies in childcare settings. 4) Describe how research and evaluations conducted in child care settings can inform the national, state, and local health officials and policy makers.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)