Working with Child Care Programs to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) is expected to introduce the Healthy Kids from Day One Act, a bill that promotes obesity prevention in the child care setting. North Carolina has been a the forefront of this issue. In 2010, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation partnered with The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., to combat childhood obesity in a groundbreaking initiative called Shape NC. This three-year, $3 million effort partnership tackles childhood obesity by focusing on young children from birth through age 5.
Below is his summary of Senator Udall’s bill.
Healthy Kids from Day One Act
Obesity rates are reaching epidemic levels in the United States, and our children are being hit particularly hard. Today, about one in three children are either overweight or obese – as a comparison, roughly 4% of children in 1960 would classify as such. More than 21 percent of preschool children are obese or overweight.
Being overweight or obese can lead to many chronic health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. All of these conditions are costly for health care purchasers and patients, reduce quality of life, and are among the top six leading causes of death each year.
Obesity comes with a tremendous economic cost. By 2018, the average obese person will pay $8,315 a year in medical bills compared to $5,855 for an adult at a healthy weight. That’s a difference of $2,460, or a 42 percent increase. Driving down the costs of health care will require us to take serious steps to curb the alarming growth in obesity in this country.
The good news is that, in the vast majority of cases, obesity is completely preventable. Specifically for children, the eating and physical fitness habits developed early in life are related to whether or not a child will maintain or develop obesity or become overweight later in life.
Key Elements of the Healthy Kids from Day One Act
- Pilot Program: The legislation would create a 3-year pilot program in 5 states to support child care collaboratives that focus on combating obesity among our youngest children. These collaboratives will work to do the following in child care settings:
- Promote physical activity.
- Create healthier eating environments.
- Limit the amount of time children spend in front of the TV or other digital screens.
- Promote parental engagement.
- Training: The collaboratives bring child care providers together in structured learning sessions to share strategies and techniques to improve healthy eating and physical activity of children in child care settings.
- Finding Out What Works: Upon completion of the pilot, HHS will use consistent metrics to evaluate the program and report back to Congress. Best practices will be identified, disseminated and encouraged in other existing federal programs.
- Federal Coordination: HHS will ensure this pilot coordinates activities with the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council. This will minimize the duplication of resources and eliminate the need for a new government entity for this program.
