LINCOLN, Neb. (Press release) – A Husker researcher is leading a first-of-its-kind project to help rural children adopt healthy eating habits to lay the foundation for lifelong well-being.

Dipti DevBetti and Richard Robinson, associate professor of child, youth and family studies and extension specialist at Nebraska, are leading a project five-year, $3.2 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health and designed to help rural child care programs foster healthy eating habits in young children by promoting appropriate dietary practices.

Promoting these habits is especially important for children in rural communities, where resources may be limited. Research shows that children in rural areas are 26% more likely to suffer from obesity than their urban peers. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

“Rural children and those who care for them face unique food and nutrition challenges,” she said. “Home-based child care is especially essential in rural areas because it offers flexible schedules that meet the needs of farmers and other rural families.

At the heart of the project is EAT (Ecological Approach To) for Prevention, a multi-tiered online rural community engagement program designed to equip child care providers with adaptive nutrition skills. This approach encourages children to self-regulate their food intake and make conscious food choices, guided by their hunger and fullness cues. Preliminary studies conducted by Dev’s laboratory showed the feasibility and acceptability of the model. The grant will allow researchers to test the EAT for Prevention model in randomized trials with children ages 3 to 5 attending rural home-based child care.

Although national policies emphasize the need for adequate nutrition in child care settings, their effectiveness in rural home-based child care programs remains understudied. EAT for Prevention helps providers learn and practice these skills, thereby improving children’s nutrition.

Dev’s previous research indicates that children in the program eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Providers also reported less stress during mealtimes and noted that children seemed more engaged – and even expanded their vocabulary through mealtime conversations.

“Meal time provides a unique opportunity to engage children, but it is often seen as a break,” Dev said. “By actively involving children, they are more likely to try new foods and develop a positive relationship with healthy eating. »

Dev’s team will conduct a randomized trial involving 200 children from 100 rural home daycares. Researchers will observe lunchtime at each site to measure what foods the children are served and how much they eat.

Changes in children’s diet and body mass index will be measured and skin changes in carotenoids will be assessed using a Veggie Meter device, which assesses biomarkers of fruit and vegetable consumption.

The dietary practices of providers will also be monitored through surveys and observations. Nebraska Extension professionals will serve as coaches, offering personalized guidance based on each provider’s meal routines and challenges with children’s eating behaviors.

By building the capacity of rural child care programs to adopt responsive feeding practices, she said, providers can serve as powerful role models, helping children learn to listen to their cues. hunger and satiety, make nutritious food choices and develop sustainable habits.

The project is hosted in the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools and the Nebraska Center for Obesity Disease Prevention. Alongside Dev, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln research team includes Lisa Franzen-Castle, associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Education and Human Sciences; Lisa Knoche, co-director of CYFS; and Natalie Koziol, CYFS research associate professor.

Another partner, Professor David Dzewaltowski of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health, has been a mentor and collaborator with Dev since 2019.

Dev will also collaborate with local communities, Extension professionals and researchers from seven universities, as well as the Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Sustainability, Dev said, is key to the project’s success, especially for small rural businesses striving to create healthy environments for children.

“Webinars alone don’t generate real change,” she said. “Providers need personalized, ongoing feedback that matches their unique goals and needs. »

Dev expects the study to have far-reaching impacts on research, policy and practice, and to strengthen the capacity of rural child care providers to address childhood obesity .

“I imagine Nebraska is leading the way in this area, advancing best practices in healthy eating to create a healthier future for rural children across the country,” she said .

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