White House Releases Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment

Why It Matters

CACFP plays a vital role in supporting the nutritional needs of children in early care and education settings. Children participating in the CACFP are 39% less likely to have poor or fair health, 41% less likely to be admitted to the hospital, and 30% less likely to experience household food insecurity. Children enrolled in CACFP-participating child care also consume more vegetables, meat and eggs, whole grains, and milk.

Children’s Diet

The Assessment states that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become more prevalent in the American diet, “leading to nutrient depletion, increased caloric intake, and exposure to harmful additives.” It also claims that 70% of children’s calories come from UPFs, contributing to diet-related diseases like obesity and diabetes. The Assessment associates UPFs with a depletion of micronutrients and dietary fiber along with an increase in sugars and carbohydrates.

The Assessment highlights three key reasons why UPFs negatively affect children’s health: nutrient depletion, increased caloric intake and inclusion of food additives. The Assessment specifically links ultra-processed grains with type 2 diabetes, ultra-processed sugars with childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and ultra-processed fats with a reduction of micronutrients. It also states that UPFs interfere with satiety hormones which can cause faster eating and confuse fullness signals.

In addition, the report associates certain food additives with mental disorders, ADHD, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndromes and carcinogens. For instance, it states that food colorings have been associated with behavioral issues and that artificial sweeteners have been linked to obesity, metabolic issues, and possibly glucose intolerance. The Assessment specifically calls out infant formula as having concerning food additives.

In addition, the Assessment states that “the greatest step the United States can take to reverse childhood chronic disease is to put whole foods produced by American farmers and ranchers at the center of healthcare.”  It discusses how the surge in UPFs has resulted in a neglect of whole foods that are essential for health and provide key nutrients. It notes that research has linked lower rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and mental illness with a whole food centered diet.

The Assessment also calls out the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) for being too complicated for the average person to understand – resulting in less than 10% of Americans actually following a diet that aligns with the DGAs. The Assessment does advocate for more government-funded nutrition research through the National Institute of Health.

The Assessment goes on to address government programs and their impact on child nutrition. While it does not discuss the CACFP, the Assessment does criticize the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program for not setting limits on UPFs. On the other hand, the Assessment uplifts the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) as an example of a successful government program that focuses solely on the nutritional health of pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The findings from the Assessment are likely to reflect upcoming changes to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which the Secretary of Health and Human Services aims to release by the end of this summer. This is important to note, as the DGAs are what shape the meal patterns for child nutrition programs. After the release of the DGAs, USDA will then begin the rulemaking process to update federal regulations in order to align them with the DGAs.

Contact policy@cacfp.org with any questions.