During frequent early office visits with parents, pediatricians are in a unique position to help curb childhood obesity.
The first 1,000 days of life is the focus of a new AAP portal, Building a Foundation for Healthy Active Living: A Focus on Early Infant Feeding & Obesity Prevention, available at www.aap.org/EarlyFeedingHALF.
The foundation of a child’s health is set in utero and early infancy, when diet quality, dining habits, activity and other patterns are formed. Pediatricians indicated in a 2017 AAP Periodic Survey that they desire more evidence-informed resources on early feeding practices and obesity prevention.
The portal offers 15 self-paced educational modules to support clinical care and anticipatory guidance. Topics include proper nutrition, safe and supportive environment, and stable and responsive relationships. The modules also offer continuing medical education and Maintenance of Certification Part 2 credit. Motivational interviewing videos and other clinician resources are accessible on the portal.
Pediatricians also can share multimedia that help teach families about healthy behaviors to support growth and development as well as age-specific resources and health quiz (http://bit.ly/2eTKP9r).
The portal was developed by the AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight, with development support through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
