University Of Michigan Awarded $4.9 Million To Help Reduce Obesity In Preschool Children

More money down the tube.

The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $4.9 million to the University of Michigan to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity among Head Start preschoolers in Michigan.

The preschool years are a critical time for developing eating behaviors. Among 4-year-olds in the United States, nearly 1 in 5 is obese, and low-income children are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be overweight than middle- or upper-income children...

With the NIFA grant, Lumeng and her team will develop an obesity intervention program based on the premise that enhancing a child's ability to control certain emotions and behaviors is a key component of effective obesity prevention.

The ability to inhibit an impulse and calm oneself in the face of stress are two examples of self-regulatory abilities.

"These abilities may be relevant to obesity prevention because children who are better able to cope with stress may be less likely to eat impulsively or in response to stress," says Lumeng, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Child Behavioral Health, and assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development.

And who provides them the Calories to satisfy their impulses?

A-dolts.