Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Skip to main content

A cross-sectional study of early childhood educators' childhood and current food insecurity and dietary intake

Description:
In this cross-sectional study, early childhood educators (ECEs; N = 307) completed an 18-item survey regarding their role (lead vs. assistant), education level, program type, and current and childhood food insecurity (FI) and dietary intake. ECEs in this study reported poor dietary quality and a high rate of FI. Approximately one quarter of ECEs ate fruits and vegetables more than once per day. Of participating ECEs, 34.5% indicated current FI and 28.7% reported experiencing FI in childhood. Differences in prevalence of current FI were found for ECE role, program type, and education (all p [less-than or equal-to] 0.03). Regression models with childhood dietary intake, childhood FI, education, and program type as predictors accounted for a significant portion of variance in current dietary outcomes. In both models, childhood dietary intake was uniquely predictive (p 0.001) although program type was not. Future training and education efforts for ECEs should consider including specific resources to assess and reduce ECE FI and provide practical support for healthy eating on a budget. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of ECE FI on a variety of educator and child outcomes. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
United States

Related resources include summaries, versions, measures (instruments), or other resources in which the current document plays a part. Research products funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation are related to their project records.

- You May Also Like

These resources share similarities with the current selection.

Early Childhood Educator INCENTIVE$ Florida: 2018-2019 annual report

Reports & Papers

Retaining educated early childhood educators

Other

Early Childhood Educator INCENTIVE$ Florida: 2019-2020 annual report

Reports & Papers
Release: 'v1.69.0' | Built: 2024-05-09 16:16:07 EDT