March 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 58

in

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and
others. These are strong programs with a
proven record of alleviating hunger and improving the health of low-income children.
Without them, America's childhood hunger
problem would be much worse.

America's Childhood Obesity
Problem
Nearly 25 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds
and one-third of school-age children in
our country are overweight or obese. The
consequences of childhood obesity are
numerous and detrimental to the health
and future of children, and they include
diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, poor academic performance, behavior problems, school absenteeism, and

Participation in Federal Nutrition Programs and Healthy Eating
The food children receive in federally funded programs have defined nutrition
standards, and as such are generally of higher nutritional quality than the food
they receive from schools or child care providers in the absence of these programs, are given at home in families without these supports, or choose for themselves outside of the federal programs. Consider the following:
■ Low-income school-aged children who eat federally funded school breakfast have
better overall diet quality (as measured by the USDA's Healthy Eating Index) than
those who eat breakfast elsewhere or skip breakfast.
■ School-aged children have a higher daily intake of fruits, vegetables, milk, and
key nutrients like calcium, vitamin A, and folate on days they eat federally funded
supper at an afterschool program compared to days they do not.
■ Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participants 3 to 5 years of age in
child-care centers have a higher intake of many key nutrients and foods, including
vegetables and milk, and fewer servings of fats and sweets.
■ NRPA member agencies serve nutritious meals to approximately 1.1 million children each year.

greater risk for obesity as an adult. While
obesity affects both genders and all racial and age groups, children from low-income households and those facing food
insecurity may be at even greater risk.
There are a number of reasons why these
children may be at greater risk for obesity, including limited access to healthy and
affordable foods, limited opportunities

56	 Parks & Recreation

MARCH 2011

for physical activity, greater availability
of fast food restaurants (especially near
schools), and greater exposure to food-related marketing. Those who are food insecure and suffer periods of even moderate
deprivation may also overeat when food
does become available, resulting in chronic ups and downs in food intake that can
contribute to weight gain.

www.NRPA .ORG

Participation in Federal Nutrition
Programs and Obesity Prevention
By providing needed food and resources,
federal nutrition programs help to reduce
food insecurity and, by extension, its negative consequences, which include obesity. Most compelling is that when children
from low-income households have greater access to nutrient-rich foods provided
through federally funded programs, the
evidence suggests that their risk of obesity is lowered. Conversely, when children
are not participating in federally funded
nutrition programs and have to fall back
on their family's limited resources, or their
own choices, the obesity risk rises. Therefore, by both improving dietary intake and
reducing food insecurity, participation in
federal nutrition programs plays an important role in obesity prevention.

Why Parks and Recreation
Park and recreation agencies are recognized by USDA Food and Nutrition Services as important partners in delivering
healthy, nutritious food to children through
summer and out-of-school time programs.
In fact, park and recreation agencies serve
millions of nutritious meals to children
March 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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