Blueprint to Address Childhood Obesity Discussed in North Carolina

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On Wednesday March 19, 2014, members of a statewide task force that had been studying the rise in childhood obesity in North Carolina came together with other heath care professionals, policy and public health experts, child care providers and parents to go over the task force’s final report, which includes detailed recommendations for how to tackle the problem.

The summit was the first public opportunity to discuss the 169-page “Promoting Healthy Weight for Young Children: A Blueprint for Preventing Early Childhood Obesity in North Carolina.” The blueprint was the culmination of two years of work by the N.C. Institute of Medicine’s Task Force on Early Childhood Obesity. It was created in collaboration with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and the N.C. Partnership for Children.

Some of the challenges to reducing obesity in infants were underlined by a new national study led by one of the speakers, Dr. Eliana Perrin, associate vice chancellor for research at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The study shows significant variation between African-American, Latino and white parents in the way they dealt with several aspects of child-rearing that could affect weight. Among the findings,  Latino parents were more likely to breastfeed their children than African-American or white parents but also were more likely to encourage babies to finish a bottle or breastfeeding even after they had lost interest in eating.

To address this, one of the recommendations to policymakers is to add material on childhood obesity to existing maternal, infant and early childhood programs that involve home visits.