1. Why Wellness? An Overview on Childhood Obesity and Prevention
Welcome to the webcast:
Why Wellness? An overview on Childhood Obesity and Prevention Strategies in the Early Care and Education (ECE) setting!
This webcast is the first of four in the Active Early/Healthy Bites Webcast series.
Over the last 10 years, childhood obesity has become a nationwide epidemic. Early Care and Education (ECE) settings present a window of opportunity to help lower the obesity rate by inspiring young children and families to develop lifelong healthy habits. This webcast will briefly review the childhood obesity incidence while providing wellness and prevention strategies to consider for your (ECE) setting.
In short, I hope to provide you with ideas and inspiration to get you thinking further about
“What can you do to improve the health of the children that you care for”?
Active Early/Healthy Bites, our WI guides for improving childhood physical activity and nutrition will also be introduced. These guides will be discussed in further detail in the other companion webcasts.

2. Preventing Obesity: Why Now and Why You?
“The risk of obesity starts early in life.”
Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese.
Preventing Obesity:
Why Now and Why You?

3. 31% of Wisconsin’s 2 to 4 year old children participating in WIC are overweight or obese.
In WI, we know that 31% of 2-4 year old low income children are already overweight or obese.
This statistic more than doubles for Wisconsin’s adults.
(64% of adults are overweight and/or obese in Wisconsin)
{Resource: (PedNSS): A continual rise in incidence in overweight or obese children over the past 10+ years, between 1997 and 2009}.
Note:
31% of Wisconsin’s 2 to 4 year old children on WIC are overweight or obese.
2010 data:
16.6% of children are overweight; 14.7% of children are obese

4. What is going on?
The most important factors contributing to this health crisis, among many, are rooted in poor nutrition, unhealthy feeding practices and lack of physical activity.
But to turn things around, it's more than simply eating the recommended number of servings from all food groups or having our children be active each day.
Preventing obesity is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest years so they can make their own good decisions in the future. To do that, we need to give parents helpful information about fostering healthy environments that support good choices. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in children's nutrition and health: they teach children about healthy foods, practice what they teach and make sure physical activity is incorporated into each day.
Parents need advice from you that is specific, practical, and actionable.

5. Children Facing Health Problems
Diabetes, heart disease, HTN, cancer, asthma, etc.
Heavier kids do worse in school.
Causes & solutions are complex
Critical period for intervention!
We know children are facing a serious health crisis!
Obesity isn’t just about a child’s appearance. If we do not solve this public health problem, children will be subjected to future weight problems and have a greater chance of developing chronic obesity-related health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, (including high blood pressure and high cholesterol), fatty liver, cancer, asthma, poor self esteem and depression.
We also know that good nutrition helps children learn better and heavier children do worse in school*. .
We have a captive audience! The ECE setting is one of the most critical venues for preventing obesity-and its related problems.
What can you do in your program to help raise the healthiest kids in America?
*From “Building Skills for Health Literacy-Nutrition, DPI”
(Definition of prevention: Stopping something before it becomes a problem. It does require action)

6. Promote Wellness & Help Reduce Obesity
Increasing Physical Activity
Decreasing Television/Screen Time
Increasing Breastfeeding (initiation, duration and exclusivity)
Increasing Consumption of Fruits & Veggies
Decreasing Consumption of High-Energy Dense Foods (candy, chips, cookies)
Decreasing Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks)
You can promote health and wellness and help reverse the obesity trend in the children you care about by addressing these six behaviors.
These behaviors are evidence-based focus areas recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC as key strategies in obesity prevention.
The six strategies include:
Increasing Physical Activity
Decreasing Television and Screen Time (including computer and video games)
Increasing Breastfeeding (initiation, duration and exclusivity)
Increasing Consumption of Fruits & Vegetables
Decreasing Consumption of High-Energy Dense Foods (such as candy, chips, or cookies)
Decreasing Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (such as soda, fruit drinks or sports drinks)
The rationale behind the last two strategies is based on the fact that children do not need to eat a lot to fulfill their energy requirements, so what they do eat should be nutritious, leaving little room for sugar sweetened beverages and high-calorie /low-nutrient foods, also known as junk foods).

7. As an early care and education professional, promoting health and wellness doesn’t mean having to add another thing on your plate…
Since, nutrition and physical activity has a place in nearly every aspect of the Early Care & Education field in WI, think of this as not just a list, but how these strategies could complement what you are already doing on a regular basis.
Keep in mind; you are applying nutrition and physical activity:
-through Licensing & Certification- all regulated group child care has to follow current CACFP meal pattern guidelines & children must have outdoor daily play, weather permitting
-through Youngstar- WI ‘s child care rating program with the Department of Children and Families
-through the WI Model Early Learning Standards. –Physical activity fits in the Health and Physical Developement domain through skill and motor development, but also supports the other domains. Nutrition is also covered in standards related to role modeling, healthy eating habits, self feeding and table manners.
-through The Pyramid Model of Social Emotional Development-with its emphasis on providing supportive environments and engaging children in new environments. For example; having children try new foods and new physical activities. Also, through this model, self awareness is learned as they learn about their bodies and how to move them. Furthermore, by using family style meal service, this can help develop a child’s awareness of appropriate social behavior

8. - A Report to the President from the Childhood Obesity Task Force.
“Early childhood settings, including both child care centers and informal care, present a tremendous opportunity to prevent obesity by making an impact at a pivotal phase in children’s lives.”
- A Report to the President from the
Childhood Obesity Task Force.
It is an exciting time to be involved in early child health and wellness, because it has never been more active as it is right now!
We have national support and focus on childhood obesity prevention….
“Early childhood settings, including both child care centers and informal care, present a tremendous opportunity to prevent obesity by making an impact at a pivotal phase in children’s lives.”
The Launch of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Public Health campaign – “Solving the Problem of childhood obesity w/in a Generation” encourages and empowers early care and education staff to do their part in preventing childhood obesity by helping our youngest children get off to a healthy start !
The Let’s Move Campaign addresses best practices to encourage healthy eating and physical activity, sleep and limit screen time.
Its website offers valuable resources and training for providers, parents and caregivers. One to definitely bookmark!
Nationwide, approximately 1,600 centers serving 280,000 children will implement new practices to encourage healthy eating and physical activity and limit screen time as a result of new commitments from the Department of Defense.

9. National Policy Changes…
Publication of Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act
Release of CACFP Aligning Dietary Guidance for All
Release of the USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the new MyPlate food icon
Publication of water and milk requirements in the CACFP
In addition to Let’s Move, we have congress reviewing and reauthorizing child nutrition programs and how this is targeting wellness in child care.
In 2010…
--The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, published in December 2010, reforms USDA Child Nutrition Programs including an emphasis on improving nutrition and solving childhood obesity.
It is changing the landscape in child and adult settings-USDA is proposing updated standards in the CACFP to better align the meals served with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
--The USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans-are based on the most recent scientific evidence review, and provides us with information and advice for choosing a healthy eating pattern.Its focus is on consuming nutrient-rich foods and beverages and a meal pattern that maintains calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight.
--The new USDA MyPlate food icon provides us with a visual representation of what we should be eating.
--And the recent publication of water and milk requirements in the CACFP require that only 1% or skim milk be served to children over 2 years old and that drinking water be made available to children upon their request.
Having these health campaigns and existing initiatives are key. They drive what we do nationally and in our state.

10. The Obesity Prevention Movement
Active Living
and
Healthy Eating
Science
Base
For Obesity
Prevention
Medical
System
Food &
Beverage
Industry
Land
Use &
Planning
Media
Agriculture
Schools
Community
Home
Early Care &
Education
System
It is here where local efforts show the greatest promise! We need to think about all of the environments where people live, work, play, and learn--- in order to make progress in obesity prevention!
As you see here, through parents, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies,
Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity. It is going to take ALL of us working together in multiple settings and sectors to make change happen.
Note how the ECE system fits into this picture—it is a critical and influential area for setting the stage for early health and wellness behaviors!
Transportation
Work
Site

11. Why the ECE Setting? Shining Stars, Green Bay Press Gazette
So, you might ask, Why the ECE setting… why us? Sue, an early care and education provider in De Pere, WI, helps to answer that question.
She says, “We are fortunate to have families choose us to help them raise and care for their children, what we teach them now will be with them for the rest of their lives.”
PAUSE.
We want to help our children develop healthy habits, and we know these habits begin at home and in the early care and education setting.
Parents trust ECE professionals because you understand children and their development!
You are prepared to create healthy environments to help even the youngest child make healthy choices (you know a child’s schedule, you understand when there are opportunities for impromptu and planned lessons, and you communicate with parents and caregivers).
Furthermore, young children look up to early care and education professionals, and thus, you are a critical role model!! An effective early care and education professional takes this to heart and uses their influence to positively impact outcomes for kids.
Shining Stars, Green Bay Press Gazette

12. Why the ECE Setting? 170,000+ WI children in regulated care
2/3 of waking hours spent in regulated care
Early development of behaviors
Why the ECE Setting?
Because Early Childhood is the perfect opportunity!
Over 170,000 of children in Wisconsin participate in some type of regulated care. Children are in care for an average of 31+ hours each week. This means that early care and education professionals have a huge influence on a child’s life and have the capacity to help shape healthy behaviors that can last a lifetime.
To illustrate this further,
A recent Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association,
Resource: J Am Diet Assoc Dec; 11(12 Supplement):S52-9.
It looked at food consumption patterns of young preschoolers: are they starting off on the right path?
The study found that approximately 70% of 2- and 3-year-olds consumed vegetables as a distinct food item at least once a day BUT YET, can you think of which vegetable was the most commonly consumed?
PAUSE.
If you guessed French fries and other fried potatoes, you are correct!
Therefore, using this example, child care programs, parents and caregivers should all be encouraged to expose young children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
--Remember, that children in this age group have high nutrient needs and relatively low energy requirements, leaving little room for such foods as FF and other fried products.
So ask yourself, what in your program can be changed to improve the vegetables offered, sampled and consumed by the children in your care? What are you doing to introduce children (and parents/caregivers) to the fresh healthy flavors of fruits and vegetables?
Remember, advice to parents and caregivers needs to be specific, practical, and actionable!!
Prevention is the key! If we start later, we’ve waited too long. We’ve then missed a great opportunity.

13. This will help us raise healthier children in Wisconsin.
Every child deserves a chance for healthy habits from their youngest years.
This will help us raise healthier children in Wisconsin.
Read the slide:
Every child deserves a chance for healthy habits from their youngest years.
This will help us raise healthier children in Wisconsin.
If we don’t act today… Obesity levels will rise.
If the trends continue, close to half of Wisconsinites will become obese in seven years and
Today’s children are likely to be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents.
(Resource: United health foundation, America’s Health Rankings,
On the positive side, we are seeing many WI centers and family day care home providers already engaging in healthier practices … they are showing children and families that a healthy lifestyle can be fun and affordable. For example, they are:
Growing gardens, sparking interest and enthusiasm in fruits and vegetables by incorporating fresh fruits and veggies daily into meals and snacks and talking about them during mealtimes.
They are banning sugary snacks during celebrations, and publishing monthly newsletters with a different health theme every month.
They are increasing the amount of daily teacher-led physical activity, noting that when kids see the adults moving, they are more likely to get up and moving too… (And it is good for the staff as well).
They are incorporating family activity nights to teach caregivers about physical development and activity, and how active lifestyles fit into the cultures of families participating in the child care program.

14. Health and Wellness
Improve the health and nutrition of children in child care settings by implementing or strengthening wellness policies in child care facilities.
In WI, DPI’s childhood obesity prevention efforts are aimed at helping centers and family day care homes to specifically develop and implement nutrition and physical activity policies and best practices for the children and families they serve.

15. We are pleased to introduce…
Wisconsin’s
Resources
That is why DPI and other state partners developed these two resources: Active Early, A WI Guide for Improving Childhood Physical Activity and Healthy Bites, A WI guide for Improving Childhood Nutrition. The guides are designed to give ECE professionals, parents, and caregivers meaningful and intentional explanations and concrete strategies to help get our youngest children active and eating healthy.

16. -Encourage physical activity
-Improve quality of food
-Improve nutrition environment
Overall, adopt nutrition and physical activity policies to create a healthy culture!
Specifically, Active Early and Healthy Bites will help ECE programs to:
Encourage daily active play which helps children develop physically, socially and facilitates brain development and early learning. Specifically, encourages 120 minutes of physical activity daily with half of it being teacher-led.
Improve the quality of food, specifically to increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats or meat alternates
And to improve the nutrition environment(such as…are mealtimes relaxing and cheerful, are they served family style, local foods included in the menu and nutrition education offered formally and informally?)
Overall, Adopt nutrition and physical activity policies that create a healthy culture in early care and education programs. This includes how ECE settings will actively involve parents and caregivers in process. Their involvement is critical to improving the health and nutrition of children.

17. Department of Health Services
For more information,
Department of Health Services
CACFP Wellness Website
In addition, another resource, ‘What works in Early Care and Education…Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Healthy Weight’ can provide you with more evidence-based strategies to encourage the best possible environment for the health and well-being of the children you care for. These strategies were developed after reviewing and summarizing recommendations from several national reports. You can find this resource on the Department of Health Service website listed on this slide, as well as on the DPI Wellness Webpage.

18. Other Webcasts to View
Introduction to Active Early/Healthy Bites: WI Guides for Improving Childhood Physical Activity and Nutrition
Active Early…Developing and Implementing Physical Activity Policies (Best Practices)
Healthy Bites…Developing and Implementing Nutrition Policies (Best Practices)
Child care settings present a tremendous opportunity to prevent obesity by making an impact at such a pivotal phase in childrens’ lives.
In Summary, ask yourself:
By working with parents and caregivers and your staff (if center-based), what will you do to improve physical activity and nutrition in your program? How will your program be engaged to help reduce the number of overweight/obese children you serve each day?
We encourage you to view the other three webcasts listed on this slide. They will serve to provide you with information, ideas and resources to implement nutrition and physical activity policies in your program. You can access these webcasts at the link here:
The other webcasts include:
Introduction to Active Early/Healthy Bites: WI Guides for Improving Childhood Physical Activity and Nutrition
Active Early…Developing and Implementing Physical Activity Policies (Best Practices)
Healthy Bites…Developing and Implementing Nutrition Policies (Best Practices)

19. Questions???
For more information, contact DPI Community Nutrition Programs, at
Or visit the CACFP Wellness Website at
If you have any questions, feel free to contact DPI or visit our Wellness Website, listed on this slide.

20. Thank you very much for watching this webcast on Why Wellness…An overview on Childhood Obesity and Prevention.
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.