Preventing Chronic Disease | Rationale for New York City’s Regulations on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Early Child Care Centers - CDC

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Preventing Chronic Disease | Rationale for New York City’s Regulations on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Early Child Care Centers - CDC

Rationale for New York City’s Regulations on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Early Child Care Centers

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• Abstract
• Background: Why Act to Reduce Obesity in Early Childhood
• The Regulations and Their Rationale in 2006
• Implementing the Regulations
• Why a Regulatory Approach
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References

Cathy Nonas, MS, RD; Lynn D. Silver, MD, MPH; Laura Kettel Khan, PhD; Laura Leviton, PhD

Suggested citation for this article: Nonas C, Silver LD, Kettel Khan L, Leviton L. Rationale for New York City’s Regulations on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Early Child Care Centers. Prev Chronic Dis 2014;11:130435. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.130435.

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Abstract

Childhood obesity is associated with health risks in childhood, and it increases the risk of adult obesity, which is associated with many chronic diseases. Therefore, implementing policies that may prevent obesity at young ages is important. In 2007, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene implemented new regulations for early childhood centers to increase physical activity, limit screen time, and provide healthful beverage offerings (ie, restrict sugar-sweetened beverages for all children, restrict whole milk for those older than 2 years, restrict juice to beverages that are 100% juice and limit serving of juice to only 6 ounces per day, and make water available and accessible at all times). This article explains why these amendments to the Health Code were created, how information about these changes was disseminated, and what training programs were used to help ensure implementation, particularly in high-need neighborhoods.

Acknowledgments

The project was funded by grant no. 65425 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the National Foundation for CDC. Technical assistance was provided by CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. ICF International was the lead contractor for the study in conjunction with the NYC DOHMH. Beth Dixon was a consultant on the project. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC or any of the other project agencies.

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Author Information

Corresponding Author: Cathy Nonas, MS, RD, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 42-09 28th St, CN-46, Queens, NY 11101-4132. Telephone: 347-396-4234. E-mail: cnonas@health.nyc.gov.

Author Affiliations: Lynn D. Silver, Public Health Institute, Oakland, California; Laura Kettel Khan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Laura Leviton, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey.

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References

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