The Challenge of Preventing and Treating Obesity in Low-Income, Preschool Children

Abstract

To become more responsive to the problem of childhood obesity, WIC should consider the following: (1) providing staff training in counseling skills that educate parents on child development and child-rearing and that elicit the client's social context and personal goals, (2) shifting time allocation and programmatic emphasis in the WIC visits away from nutritional risk assessment and toward counseling, and (3) developing collaborations with primary health care providers and community agencies that impact childhood obesity.