Many preschool children in Head Start programs are being offered fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat milk daily as directors are increasingly concerned about childhood obesity. The children also have a chance to play each day.
That's according to a new survey of directors of 1,583 programs, which serve almost 829,000 children. Head Start, the largest federally funded early-childhood education program, serves about 1 million low-income kids ages 3 and 4. The survey was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
About 30% of kids in Head Start are overweight or obese, which puts them at higher risk of health problems later in life, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
"Historically, Head Start was more about addressing under-nutrition, but now the focus is turning to overweight," says lead author Robert Whitaker, professor of public health and pediatrics at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Children in full-day programs must receive meals and snacks that provide half to two-thirds of their daily nutritional needs in foods that are high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar and salt.
Directors of programs that have their own cooks or work directly with a food service company report offering healthier fare than those that use the local school district's food services, he says. About a third of them use school district meals.
Among the findings reported in December's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine:
*89% of programs have outdoor play areas.
*73% of program directors say kids have a chance to do at least 60 minutes each day of unstructured play that encourages physical activity.
* 74% say children have the chance to do at least 30 minutes of adult-led physical activity.
*96% say kids are not kept sitting, except for naps and meals, for more than 30 minutes at a time.
"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 says. "It seems reasonable to consider adding standards in these areas."
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