Websites
- Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Program information and resources about nutrition-assistance programs, including
the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which provides nutritious meals and snacks each day to more than 3.3 million
children and 120,000 adults as part of the day care they receive. Presents
data and statistics, forms, nutrition-education materials, regulations and
policy, and research about nutrition-assistance programs. Includes
Healthy Meals Resource System (HMRS). Resources for
school-food-service and
child care professionals,
including education
and training materials,
recipes, local wellness policy materials, online discussion groups, and electronic news services.
Team Nutrition: Child Care Providers. Nutrition-education materials and guides for providing nutritious meals in child care.
- Let's Move! Child Care. Strategies, tools, and resources to help child care providers prevent obesity
and promote health in infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children by providing
healthy nutrition and physical activity and limiting screen time. Includes
Let's Move Child Care Checklist Quiz: Recommendations for Preschoolers, Infants and
Toddlers. (2011). Note: The checklist is based on the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) program, a research-tested intervention designed to enhance policies, practices,
and environments in child care to promote healthy eating and physical activity. View a presentation about NAP SACC.
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): Childhood Obesity Prevention Resources. Resources for early childhood programs and advocates about child nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention.
- National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI): Education and Training Resources for Participants in the Child and Adult Care
Food Program (CACFP). Topics include infant feeding, young children's nutrition needs, food allergies and other special needs, meal patterns, menu
planning, food preparation, and food safety.
- National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC). Health and safety standards and tools for families and child care providers, health consultants, and regulators. Presents licensing toolkits to ensure that child care environments promote healthy weight by avoiding or limiting foods high in sugar, using water and 100 percent juice, and limiting screen time. View individual states' child care licensure regulations for nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention. Includes
Achieving a State of Healthy Weight: A National Assessment of Obesity
Prevention Terminology in Child Care Regulations 2010, Updated ed. (2011). [Report].
Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards—Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care, 3rd ed. (2011). The manual is a joint collaborative project of NRC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Public Health Association (APHA). View the set of national standards describing evidence-based best practices in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for early care and education programs in Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs, 2nd ed (2011).
Family Checklist for Nutrition in Early Care and Education. (2011). [Spanish].
Family Checklist for Physical Activity in Early Care and Education. (2011). [Spanish].
Water and 100% Juice. (2012). [Tip sheet]. Developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Additional Electronic Resources
- Banghart P. 2012. Comprehensive Obesity Prevention in Early Childhood: Promising Federal and State Initiatives. New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). [Report].
- Birch LL, Parker L, Burns A. 2011. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Consensus report, Report brief, Press release].
- Gabor V, Mantinan K. 2012. State Efforts to Address Obesity Prevention in Child Care Quality Rating and
Improvement Systems. Washington, DC: Altarum Institute. [Report].
- Larson N, Ward D, Neelon SB, Story M. 2011. Preventing Obesity Among Preschool Children: How Can Child-Care Settings Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity? Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [Research brief].
- Murphy SP, Yaktine AL, Suitor CW, Moats S, eds. 2011. Child and Adult Care Food Program: Aligning Dietary Guidance for All. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report].
- Office of Head Start. 2009. Report to Congress on Head Start Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Obesity in Children. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
- Also see the MCH Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases and, in particular, the Child Care and Early Education Research Connections: Research Collection, the Healthy Child Care America Resource Library, and the National Agricultural Library (NAL) Catalog (AGRICOLA), and PubMed.
Related MCH Library Resources
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity in Child Care and Early Education Programs: Resource Brief. (December 2012).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Library.
Reviewers: S. Jean Emans, M.D., Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Alison Field, Sc.D., Boston Children's Hospital; Stephanie Loup, M.P.H. and R.D. candidate, University of Minnesota; Shree Mohanty, M.A., M.S., R.D., L.D., Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Region V; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Library; Tracy Richmond, M.D., M.P.H., Boston Children's Hospital; Mikaela Robertson, M.P.H. and R.D. candidate, University of Minnesota; Kendrin Sonneville, R.D., Sc.D., Boston Children's Hospital.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Library.
