High-Impact Obesity Prevention Standards

What to know

Public health practitioners, licensing officials, and childcare providers can adopt science-based obesity prevention standards into statewide Early Care and Education (ECE) systems. These standards are called High-Impact Obesity Prevention Standards (HIOPS). Using HIOPS can encourage healthy habits early in life among our youngest children.

Group of young children running outside.

Background

In 2010, a national advisory committee reviewed scientific evidence on nutrition and physical activity policies and practices in ECE settings. This review identified 47 HIOPS as most likely to prevent childhood obesity when embedded in policies and practices for ECE programs. These 47 standards are a subset of Caring for Our Children's special collection, Preventing Childhood Obesity.

CDC supports states and communities in embedding HIOPS into their ECE systems in various ways. See the Spectrum of Opportunities Framework and Strategies for Early Care and Education.

High-Impact Obesity Prevention Standards

The 47 HIOPS are in the following four domains:

Healthy Infant Feeding

Nutrition

Physical Activity

Screen Time Limits