Childhood obesity affects 13.7 million children in the United States, and rates tend to be higher in children and adolescents from families with lower incomes. To combat this, CDC developed the Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) project to implement effective interventions to reduce obesity among lower-income children, aged 2–12.
Last month, CDC released a report to Congress describing the background, implementation, and selected findings from the first phase, CORD 1.0, covering activities from October 2011 through December 2018.
The key findings and lessons highlighted in this report:
- High-risk, underserved populations were reached in CORD 1.0 through community settings.
- Implementation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on obesity screening in children and adolescents and referral to intervention into the healthcare of community setting was found to be feasible.
- Beneficiaries (such as parents) were satisfied with the program.
- Results showed promising improvement in health, in both healthcare and community settings.
- Dose mattered—children who had higher exposure to program components had better outcomes.
- Prevention interventions cost less than treatment-related interventions.
- Interventions were sustainable.
The report also includes an overview of CORD 2.0 planning and awardees. To learn more, read the report here.