Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Health Aff (Millwood). 2010 Mar-Apr;29(3):454-62. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0499.
Head Start provides early childhood education to nearly one million low-income children, through federal grants to more than 2,000 local programs. About one-third of children who enter Head Start are overweight or obese. But program directors face difficulty in implementing policies and practices to address obesity-and in our national survey, they identified the key barriers as lack of time, money, and knowledge. Also, parents and staff sometimes shared cultural beliefs that were inconsistent with preventing obesity, such as the belief that heavier children are healthier. Minimizing those barriers will require federal resources to increase staff training and technical assistance, develop staff wellness programs, and provide healthy meals and snacks.
“Head Start”计划通过向 2000 多个地方项目提供联邦拨款，为近 100 万低收入儿童提供幼儿教育。大约三分之一进入“Head Start”计划的儿童超重或肥胖。但项目负责人在实施解决肥胖问题的政策和实践方面面临困难，在我们的全国调查中，他们将主要障碍确定为缺乏时间、资金和知识。此外，家长和工作人员有时会持有与预防肥胖不一致的文化观念，例如认为胖孩子更健康。要想减少这些障碍，需要联邦资源来增加员工培训和技术援助，制定员工健康计划，并提供健康的餐食和零食。
