Preschool children enrolled in Colorado’s food-assistance program were slightly less likely to be overweight than in prior years, new data show.
The percentage of obese children ages 2 to 4 dropped from 8.4 percent in 2012 to 7.3 percent in 2015. In the same three-year period, the percentage of overweight children dropped from 14.5 percent to 13.9 percent.
Colorado adults have been among the leanest in the nation for years, but the state’s children are not as healthy, ranking in the middle of states for obesity.
Colorado’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, provides healthy food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and other services to 89,000 low-income women and young children at 100 clinics. The program encourages whole grains, fresh produce and healthy drinks. Almost one in five Colorado children ages 2 to 4 participate in WIC.
