Research Methods to Assess Dietary Intake and Program Participation in Child Day Care: Application to the Child and Adult.

摘要

With over 16 million children living in food-insecure households in 2010 and an increasing number of children either overweight or obese, improving child nutrition has emerged as one of the nation's most urgent public health challenges (ERS, 2011). The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food program, is helping to meet this challenge. In fiscal year (FY) 2011, CACFP served about 3.3 million children, many living in food-insecure households, as well as over 124,000 adults who require daily supervision or assistance. Because many participants rely on CACFP for the majority of their food intake, the quality of foods provided has the potential to substantially improve the adequacy and healthfulness of their diets. To ensure that the meals and snacks provided by CACFP are consistent with national nutrition guidance, the USDA asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to review and recommend improvements, as necessary, to bring CACFP meal requirements into alignment with those of other federally funded food assistance programs and with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) (USDA and HHS, 2010).