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Society of Behavioral Medicine position statement: early care and education (ECE) policies can impact obesity prevention among preschool-aged children

  • Practice and Public Health Policies
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

ABSTRACT

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) urges policymakers to help prevent childhood obesity by improving state regulations for early care and education (ECE) settings related to child nutrition, physical activity, and screen time. More than three quarters of preschool-aged children in the USA attend ECE settings, and many spend up to 40 h per week under ECE care. ECE settings provide meals and snacks, as well as opportunities for increasing daily physical activity and reducing sedentary screen time. However, many states’ current policies do not adequately address these important elements of obesity prevention. A growing number of cities and states, child health organizations, medical and early childhood associations, and academic researchers are beginning to identify specific elements of policy and regulations that could transform ECE settings into environments that contribute to obesity prevention. Let’s Move! Child Care recommends a set of straightforward regulations addressing nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in ECE settings. These emerging models provide local and state leaders with concrete steps to implement obesity prevention initiatives. We provide a set of recommendations based upon these models that will help state and local policymakers to improve current policies in ECE settings.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number R25CA057699 (JB). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the expert review provided by the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Health Policy Committee, Health Policy Council, and Obesity and Eating Disorders Special Interest Group.

Author’s statement of conflict of interest and adherence to ethical standards

Joanna Buscemi, Katelyn Kanwischer, Adam B. Becker, Dianne S. Ward, and Marian L. Fitzgibbon declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures were conducted in accordance with ethical standards.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Joanna Buscemi PhD & Marian L. Fitzgibbon PhD

  2. Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, Chicago, IL, USA

    Katelyn Kanwischer MS

  3. Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Adam B. Becker PhD, MPH

  4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Dianne S. Ward EdD

Authors
  1. Joanna Buscemi PhD
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  2. Katelyn Kanwischer MS
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  3. Adam B. Becker PhD, MPH
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  4. Dianne S. Ward EdD
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  5. Marian L. Fitzgibbon PhD
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Consortia

on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine Health Policy Committee

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Buscemi PhD.

Additional information

Implications

Practice: Administrators and providers at early care and education settings should strive to meet recommended guidelines set forth by Let’s Move! Child Care for diet, physical activity, and screen time during ECE hours.

Policy: Policymakers should improve state regulations for ECE settings con align with Let’s Move! Child Care recommendations and should use available tools for assessing areas for change and regulation of policy implementation.

Research: Continued research is needed to identify which ECE settings are meeting standards for diet, physical activity, and screen time and to further evaluate the longitudinal health benefits for children who attend ECE settings that comply with national recommendations.

SBM also acknowledges the importance of diet- and exercise-related policies in ECE settings caring for infants and toddlers. We have focused the scope of this brief specifically on preschool-aged children given the variations of policy recommendations depending on developmental level.

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Buscemi, J., Kanwischer, K., Becker, A.B. et al. Society of Behavioral Medicine position statement: early care and education (ECE) policies can impact obesity prevention among preschool-aged children. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 5, 122–125 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0297-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0297-5

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