TEACHERS’ NUTRITION AND HEALTHFUL FEEDING PRACTICES IN CHILD CARE AND HEAD START

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Childhood obesity continues to be a major issue in the United States, with approximately 22.8% of the nation's preschool-aged children being overweight or obese. This statistic is troubling in that overweight preschoolers are at a significantly higher risk of being overweight or obese in adulthood, along with the myriad of comorbid conditions associated with obesity in adulthood. The early childhood years are a prime period to target obesity prevention efforts. During this time children learn about food, establish healthful eating behaviors, and develop food preferences that continue into adulthood. As a result, there is a pressing need to address practices that help preschool children learn positive nutrition and eating behaviors. At the same time changes in employment patterns and family structure have spurred an increase of young children in nonparental care. Approximately 7 million children attend center-based child care at which they consume fifty to seventy five percent of their daily energy intake. Due to the large amount of time children are spending in childcare centers, these settings offer a prime venue for addressing today's childhood obesity issue. In response to growing concerns regarding childhood obesity, researchers have begun to explore the role of early childhood educators' nutrition and healthful feeding practices with the children in their care. Additionally, regulations and standards have emphasized the importance of providing professional development opportunities for educators in this area. However, current professional development activities focusing on nutrition and healthful feeding practices fall short in meeting the increasing demands placed on early childhood educators. Efforts are needed that can inform professional development initiatives that can better prepare early childhood educators to implement evidence-based best practices for nutrition and healthful feeding. The overall goal of the proposed study is to generate new insight that will inform policies and practices related to professional development activities aimed at better equipping early childhood educators to implement evidenced-based best practices associated with healthful nutrition and feeding practices. Three specific aims will guide the study: 1) To identify the needs of child care and Head Start teachers in regards to nutrition and healthful feeding practices, and to explore how current professional development opportunities are meeting these needs. 2) To explore child care and Head Start teachers' perceptions of mealtime challenges, and how such challenges may or may not be related to the professional development trainings they receive. 3) To identify teacher recommendations for the creation of professional development training topics/activities that better address the needs of child care and Head Start teachers within the domain of nutrition and healthful feeding practices. National data will be gathered from child care and Head Start teachers through extensive surveys comprised of validated questionnaires and open-ended items, and through follow-up qualitative interviews with a subset of teachers. Findings from the study will provide valuable new insight on how professional development can best prepare child care and Head Start teachers to effectively implement best practices in the area of nutrition and healthful feeding practices.