CDC Releases First-ever Early Care and Education State Indicator Report

CDC Releases First-ever Early Care and Education State Indicator Report

CDC’s first-ever Early Care and Education (ECE) State Indicator Report highlights state efforts to address childhood obesity in the ECE setting.

6 in 10 children aged 3—5 are cared for in non-parental care arrangements such as child care centers, family care homes, pre-kindergarten classrooms or Head Start programs, warranting the need for obesity prevention efforts that reach children at an early age. About 1 in 4 children aged 2—5 are overweight or have obesity.[1] This public health need is even more urgent when we consider that children who are overweight when they enter kindergarten are 4x more likely to have obesity in 8th grade compared to their normal weight peers[2]. To help guide our nation’s progress with regards to childhood obesity prevention in the early care and education setting, the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) developed the first ever Early Care and Education (ECE) State Indicator Report. This report highlights state efforts to address childhood obesity in the ECE setting. It also showcases supportive policies and practices ECE stakeholders can integrate into their ECE settings to prevent childhood obesity. First of its kind report! The Early Care and Education State Indicator Report looks at 7 areas within CDC’s Spectrum of Opportunities framework and identifies 15 indicators measuring state-level policies and system supports that can help prevent childhood obesity. Many states are making strides to integrate obesity prevention policies and practices into ECE settings. Licensing: Of 25 states that made licensing updates from 2011-2014, all included obesity prevention.  Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS): Of the 39 states that have ECE quality ratings, 29 include obesity prevention standards. Professional Development: 42 states offered online professional development opportunities for ECE providers covering obesity prevention topics.  Together, we can get young children off to a healthy start. View the Early Care and Education State Indicator Report to see the most recent state data on policies and system supports for obesity prevention in the ECE setting.

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More Information: 

Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity: Early Care and Education

[1] Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Jama 2014;311(8):806-14.

[2] Cunningham, SA et al., Incidence of Childhood Obesity in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014