Grantee Name
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Funding Area
Improving Diabetes Prevention and Management
Publication Date
June 2016
Grant Amount
$196,709
Grant Date:
September 2008 – May 2015
Childhood obesity is a well-documented risk factor for obesity later in life, which in turn is associated with an increased risk in Type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions.
Although the majority of obesity prevention projects are targeted to school-age children, obesity begins much earlier in life. To fill this gap, New York State’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) initiated changes to its program in 2009 to improve health outcomes in young children. Specifically, the changes included revising food packages and strengthening physical activity promotion, peer breast-feeding counseling, and nutrition education efforts.
To evaluate the impact of these initiatives, NYHealth awarded a grant to the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2008. The evaluation assessed changes in food consumption and physical activity patterns and health outcomes among children participating in WIC.