CDC Releases First-ever Early Care and Education (ECE) State Indicator Report

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One of four U.S. kids is already overweight or obese by age 2-5, with a higher prevalence among Latino kids (30%) than white kids (21%).

This is a problem because children aren’t “outgrowing” overweight and obesty. Children who are overweight when they enter kindergarten are four times more likely to be obese in 8th grade compared to their peers who are normal weight.

Because 64% of children 3 to 5 years of age are cared for weekly in non-parental care arrangements, early care and education (ECE) is a critical setting to address childhood obesity.

In 2016, the CDC released the first-ever state indicator report looking at state efforts to address childhood obesity in ECE.

The Early Care and Education State Indicator Report looks at how  The Spectrum outlines 11 unique avenues by which states or communities have successfully changed ECE facilities to improve nutrition, physical activity, breastfeeding support, and reduced screen time among children aged 0 to 5.

This first-ever report looks at how states are doing in 7 of the 11 following areas outlined in the Spectrum of Opportunities:

• Licensing and Administrative Regulations
• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
• Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
• Professional Development
• Facility-Level Interventions
• Healthy Environments
• Emerging Opportunities and Process Indicators

According to the report:

States can promote access to healthy environments for children in several ways, including farm-to-ECE programming (F2ECE). F2ECE is broadly defined as activities that connect ECE providers to local food producers, increase the use of local foods, and provide food-based education activities in ECE. This program can increase the ability of ECE providers to serve healthy meals and snacks. It can also provide hands-on opportunities for young children to learn about nutrition, agriculture, and health.

Read about these farm-to-school efforts in Minnesota.

Read about policy interventions to increase physical activity in ECE settings.

It is important to identify and track indicators to ensure states and ECE providers remain focused on recommended standards and best practices to prevent and reduce obesity.

Find our how your state is doing here.