Communities Putting Prevention to Work: Results of an Obesity Prevention Initiative in Child Care Facilities

Training early childcare providers in evidence-based nutrition strategies can help improve nutrition policies and practices of early childcare centres serving racially and ethnically diverse children from low-income families

“…TOUCH implemented a train-the-trainer programme for conducting assessments of, training and providing technical assistance to ECC. TOUCH team members trained Quality Counts Master Teachers (QCMT) on a previously established nutrition and physical activity programme ( 37 ) to then train the directors, faculty and/or staff of ECC. The QCMT training involved two all-day sessions, including large group instruction, small breakout sessions and role-playing how to work with barriers.…”

“…To support the policies, lesson plans were developed that corresponded with the policy topics. The lesson plans consisted of activities the teachers could use for the children in their classroom and were based on ‘best practice’ principles from our previous published work, including ways to: decrease the consumption of high-fructose and high-fat beverages; decrease the consumption of simple-carbohydrate snacks; increase the consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains; reduce screen time; and increase physical activity ( 37 , 38 , 41 , 42 ) . These lesson plans, intended to help the ECCs align themselves with the CFOC standards, were based on research regarding the effects of obesity prevention programmes in a childcare setting ( 37 , 38 ) , as well as the importance of policy-based interventions ( 41 ) and the inclusion of teachers as role models ( 42 ) .…”

Implementation of Healthy Eating Interventions in Center-Based Childcare: The Selection, Application, and Reporting of Theories, Models, and Frameworks

“…3), provided only recommendations for implementation (n ¼ 2), or described only the development of an intervention or framework (n ¼ 4). Individual-focused approaches Social cognitive theory (SCT) Disciplinary approval 33 Empirical support 33,34 Constructs of interest [34][35][36] Implementation strategies 36 Description of a change process [37][38][39] Design implementation strategies [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] Identify factors 36 Focus on individual-level determinants is a limitation of SCT 33 Individual-level change must be supported by environmental intervention efforts 33,37 Cultural and environmental factors affect program outcomes 38 Success might be explained by professional and interactive workshops-inviting personal reflection 44 Assess actual skills 34 ; measure changes in constructs, such as improvements in self-efficacy 33 Assess influence of perception and motivation on obesity prevention, 41 collective efficacy, 36 parental pressures, and an academic teaching climate 33 Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)…”

Evaluation of “Healthy Way to Grow”: An Obesity Prevention Program in Early Care and Education Centers

“…Furthermore, a study examining implementation of physical activity and nutrition policies in Australian ECE centers found that programs were more likely to fully implement wellness policies when parents were supportive of program implementation or felt that resources to implement the initiatives were accessible to them, suggesting that wellness initiatives in ECE may have more success when they include strategies to engage families (Wolfenden et al 2015). While wellness policy interventions have demonstrated improvements in educating staff and children (Lyn et al 2011;Natale et al 2016), more research is needed around how extending education to families supports positive developmental outcomes.…”