Head Start Children's BMI Measurement and Family Communication Best Practices

August 9th, 2024 12pm-1pm

Every year, Head Start programs collect children’s anthropometric data and communicate results to families to address childhood obesity in enrolled children. In a recently published research article, Head Start staff across the country shared that there is a lack of guidance on anthropometric measurement protocols, measurement reporting, and on how programs should be communicating the information to families. A toolkit was developed by a multi-state collaborative group of health experts, piloted, and tested for its feasibility in practice by the Head Start staff. However, the pilot feasibility testing did not include the Head Start staff from Illinois. Illinois has a total of 551 Head Start sites serving 24,530 families. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Learning best practices for preschool children’s height and weight measurement

2. Understand importance of measuring preschool children’s height and weight measurement correctly 

3. Learning best practices to communicate with parents about their child’s body weight and obesity 

4. Learning best practices to share messages regarding healthy eating and physical activities 

Registrants must create and sign in to a personal or work Zoom account to access the webinar sessions.

Presenters:
Dr. Saima Hasnin’s research and Extension activities focus on pediatric obesity prevention, and promotion of health and nutrition in early care and education settings. This webinar targets Head Start staff, which offers center-based childcare and education services to families with a lack of resources. 

As an Extension educator, Rachel Mannen is dedicated to offering nutrition and weight management counselling to families. Moreover, because of her prior experience of working with Head Start, she is an ideal Extension member to collaborate with.  

Dr. Krystal Hodge has expertise in early childhood feeding practices and nutrition interventions, as well as in dissemination of community focused nutrition education. Her experience will be helpful in translating the evidence-based guidelines to user-friendly language and improve its relevance to the audience.