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Sunday, November 4, 2007

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This presentation is part of : Transdisciplinary Healthcare Initiatives
Key Messages Promoting Healthy Eating & Physical Activity for Families With Young Children
Kathy Riley-Lawless, PhD, RN, APRN, BC, School of Nursing, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
Learning Objective #1: discuss the importance of promoting healthy eating and physical activity among young children.
Learning Objective #2: explore evidence-based key messages promoting healthy eating and physical activity for families with young children and strategies to communicate these messages.

As the epidemic of childhood obesity skyrocketed globally, interventions focused on both the treatment and the prevention of obesity. Much attention focused on school-age and older children. As evidence emerged documenting both the difficulty in developing effective interventions and the presence of established health risk factors in older children, attention shifted to younger children with the goal of preventing obesity.  Because early childhood is a period of tremendous growth and development, it is a promising time in which to promote health and prevent obesity. This presentation focuses on the strategies and interventions developed by a collaborative partnership between an early learning center, non-profit organization focused on health and prevention services, and a university transdisciplinary team to promote healthy eating and physical activity in young children. Recognizing that young children spend much of their time with their families and in child care centers, strategies focused on activities for child care teachers and key messages for families. Specific to this presentation is the critical role of the family, the development of evidence-based key messages for families with young children and the creative communication of these key-messages. Implications for nurses will be included.