Evaluating the Effectiveness of NAP SACC in Preventing Overweight Among Preschoolers

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Topics:
Nutrition & Physical Activity for Youth | Obesity & Overweight

Researchers are evaluating the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) program designed to improve the nutrition and physical activity environment at child care centers. Four centers (each with 25 enrolled children aged 3 to 4 ½ years) that serve food will be recruited from one county in North Carolina and randomly assigned to an early or delayed intervention group. During the first six months, the center will initiate a self-assessment, participate in five workshops, and develop a plan of action. As part of the 15-month intervention, workshops for the child care staff will focus on the five components of the NAP SACC program: overview of childhood overweight, nutrition for children, physical activity for children, personal health and wellness of the staff, and healthy families. The staff will also be trained in the use of two preschool curriculums—Color Me Healthy and Families Eating Smart and Moving More—that promote physical activity and healthy eating. Before and after the program, height and weight of all children involved will be measured and the food intake and physical activity while at the center will be measured for half of the children involved. The degree to which the centers change their policies and practices around the diet and physical activity of the children will also be assessed. If the program increases physical activity and healthy eating within the child care setting, it could be widely disseminated.

 

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