Topic: Obesity, Nutrition/Diet, Physical Activity, Alcohol/Drugs/Tobacco, Emotional Competency
Target Population: Early Childhood
Sector: School-Based
This program is for children in preschool.
Healthy Start, a comprehensive health education program, is designed to improve knowledge and change attitudes about healthy living and, consequently, modify unhealthy behavior in young children.
No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of implementing the current edition of the Healthy Start curriculum in a preschool setting were located. The program developers’ original study to test the effectiveness of the Healthy Start program evaluated outcomes associated with the curriculum plus food service modifications in several Head Start preschools. These studies suggest that children receiving the program along with the food service modification did not experience reductions in cholesterol that were significantly different from children receiving the food modification program alone. Research published from this study suggests that the curriculum may help to increase knowledge of nutrition and physical activity and that reductions observed in blood cholesterol levels may have been the result of the food service alterations rather than the Healthy Start program itself.
The Healthy Start program package includes a 12-unit curriculum, 11 classroom posters, and 100 reward stickers. Children learn concepts through engaging activities, such as story telling, songs, rhymes, and art projects. Unit topics include the following:
A shortened version of the program, Healthy Hops*, is also available.
*A separate fact sheet is available for this program.
This program has been commercially available since 2001, and the curriculum has been used in 21 states.
Teacher training and train-the-trainer workshops are available from the program developer. Please use details in the Contact section for more information.
Considerations for implementing this program might include acquiring buy-in from the classroom teachers, finding time to implement the activities within the school day, and ensuring lessons are delivered with fidelity.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing Healthy Start, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Time to implement activities varies. Each of the 12 units require 10 to 60 minutes to complete.
The cost of the Healthy Start curriculum package is $190.
To move the Healthy Start program to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects associated with the curriculum, beyond the food service alterations, lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact Dr. Christine Williams by mail 300 2nd Street, New Smyrna Beach, FL, 32168, or phone 1-914-582-6639
Williams et al. (2002) and Williams et al. (2004)
D'Agostino, C., D'andrea, T., Nix, S. T., & Williams, C. L. (1999). Increasing nutrition knowledge in preschool children: The Healthy Start Project, Year 1. Journal of Health Education, 30(4), 217-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/10556699.1999.10604642
Williams, C. L., Bollella, M. C., Strobino, B. A., Spark, A., Nicklas, T. A., Tolosi, L. B., & Pittman, B. P. (2002). "Healthy-Start": Outcome of an intervention to promote a heart healthy diet in preschool children. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 21(1), 62-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2002.10719195
Williams, C. L., Strobino, B. A., Bollella, M., & Brotanek, J. (2004). Cardiovascular risk reduction in preschool children: The "Healthy Start" project. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(2), 117-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719351
Williams, C. L., & Strobino, B. A. (2008). Childhood diet, overweight, and CVD risk factors: The Healthy Start Project. Preventive Cardiology, 11(1), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1520-037X.2007.06677.x
