Battling Preschool Obesity

These days, healthy (and veg-friendly) school lunch options are becoming more available in elementary school lunchrooms and university dining halls in an effort to combat America’s obesity epidemic. While these steps are important, studies show that almost one in five four-year-olds are already obese before entering kindergarten. New research from Harvard says that child-care providers are a contributing factor to this problem, because few states have laws that regulate nutrition and physical activity for preschool-age children. With nearly half of children aged two to five in formal daycare centers, nutritionists are petitioning Congress to address this issue when it prepares to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act later this year.