Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
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Congress makes the following findings: The COVID–19 pandemic has had serious impacts on the health and well-being of children and families. Unemployment and poverty, as well as lengthy business, school, and childcare closures, have all contributed to elevated levels of food insecurity, with an estimated 14,000,000 children in the United States not getting enough to eat. Millions of children receive free or reduced-price meals through early childhood education programs, including school and early care and education programs such as childcare, Head Start, pre-kindergarten, and family childcare, making early childhood education an important setting for addressing food insecurity.
More than 30,000,000 children receive free or reduced-price meals on a daily basis, and access to both breakfast and lunch can provide some children with more than half of their daily caloric intake. Due to financial instability during the COVID–19 pandemic, there is an increased likelihood of unhealthy weight gain among children as families shift to less costly, calorically dense, shelf-stable foods, rather than fresh foods. Research has shown that early childhood is an important time for developing dietary and physical activity behaviors that support health and well-being and that may help prevent obesity.
Children who are exposed to healthy foods early are more likely develop eating habits that promote healthy growth that can continue throughout childhood, and healthy eating can improve a child’s learning ability, potentially lead to higher academic performance, improve mental, social, and physical well-being, and contribute to increased self-esteem. Research underscores the importance of physical activity in early childhood. It is not only essential for healthy weight maintenance, but also for practicing and learning fundamental gross motor skills and improving academic achievement.
Furthermore, when children have the opportunity for adequate physical activity, they benefit physically, psychologically and socially. Nearly 20 percent (1 in 5) of 2-year-olds spend more than 2 hours of a typical day watching television or videos, and the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics found that each incremental hour of watching television at age 2 is associated with corresponding declines in school engagement, math achievement, and weekend physical activity, and with increases in bullying by classmates, consumption of soft drinks and snacks, and body mass index at age 10.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014 found that a third of children overweight in kindergarten had obesity by the eighth grade. Almost every child with severe obesity remained that way, suggesting that efforts must start much earlier and focus more on the children at greatest risk. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2017 estimates that over 50 percent of 2-year-olds today will be obese by 35 years of age. A study examining the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey published in 2018 found an increase in prevalence of childhood obesity in 2015 and 2016.
Childhood obesity for children between 2 and 5 years of age increased from 9 percent to 14 percent, the highest increase since 1999. In 2016, about 82 percent of United States preschool-aged children were in childcare, and most of their day was spent in sedentary activities. Early care and education centers serve approximately 7,500,000 children birth through age 5 years but not yet in kindergarten, making the early childhood care and education setting an important one for promoting healthful habits.
More than 122,000 children in 12 States have benefitted from efforts to support healthier early care and education programs. This includes the provision of training and coaching for childcare providers and technical assistance to State agencies to integrate nutrition and physical activity best practices into existing State and local systems. The purposes of this Act are to— establish a program that will enhance the training and knowledge of early care and education providers and influence practices, policies, and environments in early care and education settings to support healthy eating and physical activity for children ages birth through 5, including by addressing the growing threat of food insecurity; provide support to States on ways to link early care and education programs to nutrition supports; monitor progress of healthy eating and physical activity promotion in early care and education settings; and identify emerging, and expand existing, approaches to engaging families and parents of children ages birth to 5 in healthy eating and physical activity.