Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity in Child Care
Project Number: R40 MC 08727-02 Project Date: 9/1/2007 Grantee: UNC Chapel Hill Department/Center: School of Public Health/Maternal and Child Health
Final Report
Pending
Principal Investigator
Jonathan B Kotch MD, Professor, UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health/Maternal and Child Health, 405 Rosenau Hall, CB# 7445, S. Columbia St. Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445 jonathan_kotch@unc.edu
Abstract
This proposal is to develop and test a training curriculum for child care health consultants (CCHCs) to create a new specialization in nutritional child care health consultation. This CCHC nutrition specialist would then implement an integrated nutrition and physical activity intervention in selected Bright Horizons® child care centers in three sites across the country addressing children’s diets and physical activity through changes in center policies and procedures and caregiver behavior. Although individual components of the proposed intervention have been attempted, this project proposes to combine an existing intervention (NAP-SACC) with enhanced outdoor environments which are specifically designed to be attractive learning environments which will encourage children to engage in more outdoor physical activity. The project will use objective research assistants to measure changes in policies and caregiver behaviors and observable changes in children’s diets and physical activity.
