Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2020 May 26;42(2):362-373. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa019.
Early care and education (ECE) settings represent an important point of intervention for childhood obesity prevention efforts. The objective of this paper was to compare ECE licensing regulations for each Canadian province/territory to evidence-based, obesity prevention standards.
Two authors reviewed existing ECE regulations for each province/territory and examined whether the regulatory text supported standards for nutrition (n = 11), physical activity (n = 5) and screen time (n = 4). Provinces/territories were evaluated on the strength of regulatory language for each standard (i.e. fully, partially, or not addressed) and a total comprehensiveness score (maximum score of 20). ECE centres and homes were examined separately.
The majority of provinces/territories required providers to follow Canada's Food Guide, but few had regulations for specific foods or beverages. Most provinces/territories included standards related to written menus and drinking water, but the strength of these standards was weak. Many provinces/territories required physical activity and outdoor opportunities to be provided daily, but few included a time requirement. Only two provinces included any screen time standards. Total comprehensiveness scores averaged 5.7 for centres and 5.4 for homes.
Canadian provinces/territories have insufficient obesity prevention regulations in ECE settings, highlighting a potential point of intervention to prevent obesity.
早期保育和教育（ECE）环境是儿童肥胖预防工作的一个重要干预点。本文的目的是将每个加拿大省/地区的 ECE 许可法规与基于证据的肥胖预防标准进行比较。
两名作者审查了每个省/地区现有的 ECE 法规，并检查了法规文本是否支持营养（n=11）、身体活动（n=5）和屏幕时间（n=4）的标准。根据每个标准的监管语言的强度（即全面、部分或未涉及）以及总全面性得分（最高得分为 20 分）对省/地区进行了评估。分别检查了 ECE 中心和家庭。
大多数省/地区要求提供者遵循加拿大的食品指南，但很少有针对特定食品或饮料的规定。大多数省/地区都包含与书面菜单和饮用水相关的标准，但这些标准的强度较弱。许多省/地区要求每天提供身体活动和户外机会，但很少有时间要求。只有两个省/地区包括任何屏幕时间标准。中心的总全面性平均得分为 5.7，家庭的平均得分为 5.4。
加拿大各省/地区在 ECE 环境中缺乏肥胖预防法规，这突出了预防肥胖的一个潜在干预点。
