Shape NC 2021

Celebrate the Shape Journey

For a decade, Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children has been an important part of our work here at The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), for our local partnerships, and with our partners. Together we promoted healthy habits in early care and education programs and partnered with early childhood professions as they supported child health behaviors that will lead to lifelong benefits.

The lessons learned from years of Shape NC evaluation are key as the network continues to impact early childhood systems at multiple levels to drive change. The Shape NC approach to child care technical assistance will be continued locally, and the knowledge gained by Shape NC implementation will guide other Smart Start network technical assistance and quality improvement initiatives.

Read "Celebrating the Shape NC Journey", the 10 Year Shape NC Report

What is Shape NC?

kids runningShape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children is an initiative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation, The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), and AmeriCorps, created to increase the number of children starting kindergarten at a healthy weight and ready to learn.

Shape NC promotes healthy eating and active learning through play for children from birth to age 5 by assisting communities across the state in healthy endeavors. The initiative uses a comprehensive and integrated approach to improve early childhood practices to inspire a lifetime of healthy behaviors.

How Shape NC works

Since 2010, Shape NC has helped communities and child care centers across North Carolina develop environments, practices and policies that encourage young children to be healthy. This is done through the implementation of three evidence based programs that promote best practices in nutrition and active play; Be Active Kids® (BAK), Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) through the Natural Learning Initiative, and Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (Go NAP SACC).

Shape NC embodies distinct features that together make it a promising strategy for early childhood obesity prevention.

  • Shape NC works with the youngest children from birth to age five across the state. Most childhood obesity prevention projects target school-age children. Starting early instills healthy behaviors early on. Research shows that preschool children who are overweight are almost five times  more likely to be overweight as young adults.
  • Shape NC integrates multiple research-based models to provide an in-depth approach to childhood obesity prevention. It combines evidence based programs to create a comprehensive approach: Be Active Kids® (BAK), Preventing Obesity by Design (POD), and Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (Go NAP SACC)
  • Shape NC mobilizes communities to commit to the goal of reducing childhood obesity and supports the facilitation of healthy practices in childcare centers

Why it is important

At a time when the nation is facing rising health care costs and high obesity rates, Shape NC is taking a preventive approach to proactively address the issue, focusing on the state’s youngest children.

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 8 preschoolers is obese in the US.
  • In North Carolina, roughly three out of every 10 young low-income children ages 2 to 4 years are either overweight or obese.
  • Children who are obese by age 6 or overweight by age 12 have greater than a 50 percent likelihood of becoming obese adults. According to a report by the Trust for America’s Health, almost a third of adult North Carolinians are obese.
  • Approximately 38 percent of North Carolina’s children are enrolled in almost 5000 regulated childcare centers, where they receive most meals and spend most of their waking hours

Shape NC Implementation Partners

Shape NC provides a unique combination of interventions to provide comprehensive prevention of early childhood obesity.

Go NAP-SACC: Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care Go NAP SACC works with child care programs to set young children on a lifelong path to healthy eating and activity

POD: Preventing Obesity by Design  An on-going comprehensive, health promotion design intervention focused on the outdoor environments of child care centers.

Be Active Kids® An innovative, interactive health program for children ages birth to five that is available to adults working in child care centers, child care homes, and schools across North Carolina.

Shape NC Historic Funders

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation 

The BCBSNC Foundation is a separate, independent nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of North Carolinians. BCBSNC Foundation focus areas include: Health of Vulnerable Populations — improving health outcomes of populations served by safety-net organizations; Healthy Active Communities — increasing physical activity and encouraging healthy eating habits; and Community Impact through Nonprofit Excellence — increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2000, BCBSNC Foundation has invested more than $64 million into North Carolina communities. www.bcbsncfoundation.org

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps sends people power and funding to communities across the country. For decades, AmeriCorps has worked to make service to others an indispensable part of the American experience. Through our nation’s most trying times, AmeriCorps has come together to help those in need.

Shape NC Blog Posts

Smart Start Releases “Shape NC: Celebrating the Shape NC Journey”  

The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC) has released Shape NC: Celebrating the Shape NC Journey, a report highlighting  Shape NC’s efforts to develop healthy lifestyles in young children across […]

Creating Impact by Supporting Child Health and Development

In celebration of the upcoming new year, Smart Start is celebrating our hard work and taking this time to recognize the role of Smart Start local partnerships in each community. Smart […]

October is National Farm to School Month

Farm to School is a program that ensures communities have fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early care and […]

Celebrating a Decade of Shape NC

In a journey that began in 2010, Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children, sunset on December 31, 2020 (the Healthy Starts for Infants and Toddlers project ends September 2021). […]

Share This:
Translate »