Building Blocks for Healthy Preschoolers: Child Care and Family Models

项目概要/摘要 儿童肥胖是世纪的一个决定性健康问题，它导致了长期的健康差距。 该应用程序评估了通过开发和开发在生命早期预防健康差异的策略。 与环境健康有关的干预措施侧重于儿童保育中心工作人员和家庭。 儿童保育中心提供了一个极好的机会，建立健康的饮食和体育活动 生活习惯，避免体重快速增加，导致健康差距。建筑物对 在托儿中心进行全州范围的调查，并对一个环境 干预，这项3细胞随机试验评估了以工作人员为中心的环境的影响， 健康干预和工作人员和家庭为重点的干预，对控制条件。 该试验将在马里兰州的48个儿童保育中心进行，招募1080人 来自低收入家庭的30-54个月的儿童、1 080名父母和450名工作人员。 目的是：1）检查健康干预的单独和组合的影响 家庭介入与控制对幼儿中心工作人员健康相关态度之影响 和行为;父母健康相关的态度和行为;和儿童饮食摄入量，食物 偏好、身体活动和生长; 2）检查干预措施的可持续性; 以及3）检查结果的变化是否衡量了儿童的食物偏好， 生长和喂养行为是由儿童保育人员健康相关的变化介导的。 态度和行为和/或父母健康相关的态度和行为。的结果 这项试验将为儿童保育中心预防肥胖和减少儿童肥胖的计划和政策提供信息。 差异，并将通过会议在地方、区域和国家各级传播， 信息简报、社交媒体和同行评议的期刊文章。总体目标 通过我们的大学/州机构/非营利合作伙伴关系（马里兰州大学 医学;马里兰州教育部和卫生与心理部 卫生;和马里兰州家庭网络）是为了促进全州的环境战略， 减少儿童肥胖和长期健康差距。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Pediatric obesity, a defining health problem of the century, leads to long-term health disparities. This application evaluates strategies to prevent health disparities early in life by developing environmental wellness-related interventions focused on child-care center staff and families. Child-care centers provide an excellent opportunity to build healthy dietary and physical activity lifestyle habits and avoid the rapid weight gain that leads to health disparities. Building on a statewide survey among child-care centers and a pilot evaluation of an environmental intervention, this 3-cell randomized trial evaluates the impact of a staff-focused environmental wellness intervention and a staff and family-focused intervention, against a control condition. The trial will be conducted in 48 child-care centers throughout Maryland, enrolling 1080 children age 30-54 months from low-income families, 1080 parents, and 450 staff members. The aims are: 1) to examine the impact of the wellness intervention individually and combined with the family intervention versus control on child-care center staff wellness-related attitudes and behaviors; parent wellness-related attitudes and behaviors; and child dietary intake, food preferences, physical activity, and growth; 2) to examine the sustainability of the interventions; and 3) to examine whether changes in outcomes measures for children’s food preferences, growth, and feeding behavior are mediated by changes in the child-care staff wellness-related attitudes and behaviors and/or parent wellness-related attitudes and behaviors. Findings from the trial will inform programs and policies in child-care centers to prevent obesity and reduce disparities, and will be disseminated locally, regionally, and nationally through conferences, information briefs, social media, and peer-reviewed journal articles. The overall objective through our university/state agency/non-profit partnership (University of Maryland School of Medicine; Maryland State Department of Education and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and Maryland Family Network) is to promote statewide environmental strategies that reduce pediatric obesity and the long-term health disparities.