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Promising Policies for Early Obesity Prevention

  • Obesity (S Armstrong and A Patel, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Pediatrics Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper aims to highlight policy approaches for obesity prevention in early childhood while also discussing the opportunities for efforts to consider social determinants of health as a core tenet to child investments.

Recent Findings

Efforts to increase access to healthy food, active play, and reduced screen time have been seen through child care licensing regulations, Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS), and federal funding streams; a recent case study of the Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) shows how the impact of these efforts can be augmented if they are community-driven and paired with proper support.

Summary

It is imperative to employ a health equity lens to policies for early obesity prevention—an approach that will benefit all children. National efforts have focused on improving health in the child care environment. This article discusses three main policy levers to impact obesity in early childhood, specifically through child care: main funding streams, Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS), and child care licensing regulations. These efforts, coupled with a holistic view of health outside of the child care setting, will best support children’s physical and emotional well-being, promote whole-child development, and address fundamental social determinants of health. Lastly, the article discusses unintended consequences that can arise from some of these approaches.

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Notes

  1. Please note that in some states, local governments can also regulate the early care and education setting. For more information, please visit http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/healthy-child-care.

  2. The Public Health Law Center has analyzed the ECE licensing laws and regulations in all 50 states. For more information, please visit http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/healthy-child-care.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Public Health Law Center, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Saint Paul, MN, USA

    Anna Ayers Looby & Natasha Frost

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  1. Anna Ayers Looby
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  2. Natasha Frost
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Correspondence to Anna Ayers Looby.

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Anna Ayers Looby and Natasha Frost each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Obesity

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Ayers Looby, A., Frost, N. Promising Policies for Early Obesity Prevention. Curr Pediatr Rep 5, 142–149 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40124-017-0139-2

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