Dixon Awarded Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Beth Dixon, associate professor of nutrition and food studies, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $100,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the project titled "Evaluation of New Physical Activity and Nutrition Policies for Group Daycares in New York City."

Development and implementation of effective physical activity and nutrition policies in childcare environments are critical steps toward prevention of childhood overweight. In 2007, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) added several evidence-based physical activity and nutrition policies for group daycares to the NYC Health Code.

Dixon's proposal will evaluate whether NYC group daycares meet the new policies, and assess perceived difficulties and barriers to implementation of these policies. The study sample will include 40 daycares from four distinct regions of NYC (Manhattan, the Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn). The daycares vary in enrollment size, participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and availability of a cook on-site; the children who attend the daycares also vary in ethnicity, household income, and prevalence of overweight.

For the proposed study, the project team will collect survey data from Directors about their current physical activity and nutrition policies, and observe related behaviors of preschool children who attend the daycares. These findings will be compared to data on some of the nutrition policies collected from these 40 daycares by the team in 2005-2006 (before official policies on physical activity and nutrition were added to the NYC Health Code). Results of this study will inform and guide implementation of these policies in NYC and other U.S. communities.