Slight decrease occurs in obesity rate for Iowa’s low-income preschoolers

New information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Iowa is making small strides in fighting childhood obesity.

Between 2008 to 2011, the obesity rate fell 0.7 percent, from 15.1 percent to 14.4 percent for children between the ages of 2 and 4 who come from low-income families. Nationwide 12 percent of all preschool-aged children are obese and that number rises to 14.4 percent for youth who come from low-income homes.

“We were of course very excited,” said Jill Lange, director of Iowa's Women, Infants and Children program which is housed in the Iowa Department of Public Health. “After all these years of going up, we were thrilled to see it go in the other direction.”

Iowa is one of 18 states in the nation to see its rates take a dip over that three-year period. The population highlighted in the study includes families that qualify for the WIC program – meaning that their household income is 185 percent or less than the federal poverty level.

The national program serves pregnant or new mothers and families with children under age 5, providing them with food free of charge said changes involving the provided foods are one factor in the slight obesity decrease.

In 2009, federal rules took effect that restricted allowed amounts of juice and whole milk while encouraging families to consume healthier options such as low-fat milk, whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

“We think that has made a huge different with nutritional intake,” Lange said.

She also attributed the success to a “multi-causal effect” that included better nutrition and enhanced awareness.

“Our local WIC agencies that provide nutrition education have really been focusing on childhood obesity and what we've allowed them to do is set up different fun educational activities for parents,” Lange said. “I think parents are becoming more aware.”

To Kala Shipley, executive officer of health promotions for the Iowa Department of Public Health, that awareness piece is key.

“That's probably the most important thing to point out,” she said. “Awareness and the availability of healthier food options … I think there's more opportunities due to the awareness and different activities in the communities.”

WIC data shows that the low-income childhood obesity needle did not move as much for Linn County, which only saw a 0.1 percent decrease with 11.9 percent of children under age 5 classified as obese in 2008 and 11.8 in 2011.

Struggling families with young children can also look to Head Start, another national program, for support. The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) administers Head Start programming for families in the Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties in Eastern Iowa.

Christi Regan, director of Head Start and Early Head Start for HACAP, said program staff has been working over the last few years to emphasize wellness, including healthy eating habits and keeping kids physically active through the I Am Moving I Am Learning initiative.

“We pride ourselves that we're getting children ready for school with educational aspects but we're also getting them ready for life,” Regan said. “Nutrition is one of our main components we work with our families and children.”

Some area Head Start sites have community gardens where students learn about and actually pick fresh produce. Regan said she's also worked with vendors to make sure the foods students eat, which staff provide, are nutritious.

“We want low fat, low salt, low sugar,” said Regan, who also noted the past few years have seen a shift toward cooking and preparing children's meals instead of reheating and ready-to-eat items. “We want those really healthy foods.”