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Study Suggests Head Start Going Beyond Requirements to Improve Health of Preschool-Aged Children
A study published in the December issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests that the early education program Head Start is enhancing efforts to improve the health of preschool-aged children, USA Today reports. As the largest federally funded early-childhood education program, Head Start was initially established to address undernutrition. However, approximately 30 percent of children in Head Start are now overweight or obese, placing them at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers at Temple University surveyed the directors of 1,583 programs, which together serve almost 829,000 pre-school aged children. According to the data, 70 percent of program directors reported serving only nonfat or 1 percent fat milk; 94 percent reported serving children some fruit other than 100 percent fruit juice; and 97 percent reported serving some vegetable other than fried potatoes. The programs also are providing children with more opportunities for physical activity. For example, 89 percent of programs have outdoor play areas, and 96 percent say children do not sit for more than 30 minutes at a time, except during nap and meal times. In addition, 73 percent of program directors say children have the opportunity to participate in at least an hour per day of unstructured play that encourages physical activity, and 74 percent say their programs provide children with at least 30 minutes of adult-led physical activity daily. However, lead author Robert Whitaker warns that “currently, there aren’t any federal standards for Head Start that limit kids’ TV time, specify how much time they need to spend each day being physically active or the kind of milk that is served.” Whitaker suggests considering drafting standards to ensure that curbing childhood obesity is top of mind for program directors (Hellmich, USA Today, 12/8/09; Whitaker et al., Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, December 2009 [subscription required]). (Editor's Note: The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through two of its national programs, Healthy Eating Research and Active Living Research.)
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