Infants and toddlers need access to healthy nutrition and obesity prevention initiatives. This annotated resource list includes a range of materials, such as policy briefs, fact sheets, websites and tools, to help stakeholders learn about the issue.
ZERO TO THREE Resources
Nutrition Assistance: A Critical Support for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, ZERO TO THREE and CLASP, 2017 – This paper is part of a series describing 13 policies core to advancing infant-toddler well-being in four essential areas: high quality early care and education opportunities; strong parents; economically stable families; and healthy bodies, healthy minds and healthy parents. It discusses the importance of nutrition assistance for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
Good Nutrition Feeds Healthy Development and A Healthy Future, ZERO TO THREE, 2009 – This brief discusses the importance of good nutrition for young children’s healthy development. It includes research on the impact of food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger and outlines state and federal policy recommendations.
State Initiative articles discussing nutrition – ZERO TO THREE’s State Initiatives is a collection of articles highlighting innovative actions states have taken to improve well-being for infants and toddlers.
Additional Resources
Child Hunger Fact Sheet, Feeding America, September 2017 – This fact sheet from Feeding America, a network of food banks, provides statistics on children’s food insecurity and use of food assistance programs, as well as research about the impact of food insecurity on children’s health and development. Additional resources are available on the Feeding America website.
The First 1,000 Days: Nourishing America’s Future, 1,000 Days, 2016 – This report on the nutritional health of America’s mothers, babies and toddlers discusses the problem of poor nutrition and identifies ten policy areas where greater action and investment could have a transformative impact on children’s health and well-being.
The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, August 2017 – This annual report highlights obesity trends and top strategies, policies, programs and practices aimed at reversing the epidemic. The website has additional graphics, state fact sheets, and a state policy tracker.
Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies, Institute of Medicine, June 2011 – This report recommends steps that should be taken by child care providers, preschools, pediatricians, employers and policymakers to prevent early childhood obesity. In addition to the report, there are shorter fact sheets and action guides outlining research and recommendations.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Future website, Nemours Foundation and Center for Disease Control – Healthy Kids, Healthy Future is the revised name of Let’s Move! Child Care, part of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative to prevent child obesity. The website offers information about obesity prevention for parents, child care providers, and policymakers, provides tools to support states in making policy change, and highlights states that have taken action.
Healthy Childcare State Specific Resources and Licensing Laws, Public Health Law Center, 2017 – This website includes a 50-state analysis of child care licensing laws related to health and safety factors, such as physical activity, screen time, nutrition, breastfeeding, and playground safety.
Making Each Day Healthier for All Children: 2017 Progress Report, Voices for Healthy Kids, 2017 – This progress report released by Voices for Healthy Kids, a campaign to help all children achieve a healthy weight, highlights recent policy wins and campaigns to increase health equity, improve access to healthy foods and physical activity, and improve the places where families live, learn, work, and play. The website includes additional resources and toolkits.
