Obesity during childhood negatively affects a child’s health and increases his or her risk of obesity and its related health consequences during adulthood. Preventing obesity during early life is an important public health priority. The modest decreases in obesity noted in this study are most likely due to a combination of prevention efforts at the national, state, community and family levels. Federal efforts include USDA’s revision of the WIC food package to align with the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to establish successful long-term breastfeeding, CDC’s Early Care and Education Childhood Obesity program, and State Public Health Actions.
Jefferson County Public Health WIC's mission is to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
WIC is a nutrition program for:
- Pregnant women
- Breastfeeding women (up to one year postpartum)
- Non-breastfeeding, postpartum women (up to 6 months postpartum)
- Children until the age of five years
- Nutrition education including breastfeeding support
- Nutritious foods to supplement a person's regular diet
- Screening and referral
- Specialty Formulas
- Prenatal Classes
- WIC participants must meet certain financial requirements and be "nutritionally at risk" to qualify for the program.
- Breastfeeding Program (Please contact us for more information)
For more information on CDC’s childhood obesity prevention efforts, visit www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood.