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Early childhood is a critical period to intervene for obesity, developmental and behavioural problems. Data from 1065 children in 14 Northeast Iowa Community Action Head Starts (HS) were collected between 2011 and 2018. Body mass index (BMI) and developmental scores were assessed at the beginning of each school year and compared after the first year in HS. Females showed a 3.5% decrease in BMI percentile (F = 2.46, P = 0.12, = 0.02), while males increased theirs by 4.4% (F = 7.41, P = 0.007, = 0.05). Females showed higher initial passing rates than males on the Brigance (85.9% vs 75.7%, p = 0.006), self-help (64.7% vs 49.1%, p = 0.001), but not socio-emotional outcomes. Females in HS showed a slight decrease in BMI, compared to a significant increase in males. Improvements in developmental and behavioural outcomes were similar for both. Further research should determine why such differences occurred.

Background: Childhood obesity represents a public health crisis in the United States. Thus, focusing on early childhood is crucial to modify the consequences associated with obesity. The Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI) is a community-based wellness program implemented in Northeast Iowa since 2009. FFI focuses on healthy eating and physical activity. Our aim is to describe the impact on body mass index (BMI) after implementing FFI in a Northeast Iowa Community Action Head Start (HS) population., Methods: Retrospective BMI data was collected from all children attending 14 HS sites from 2012 to 2018. Children with BMI measurements during July to December of the first year in HS were included in the study. Follow-up data the second year in HS was obtained. Overweight and obesity prevalence, as well as, BMI changes between year 1 and 2 in HS were analyzed., Results: Data from 1013 children were collected, 850 (84%) had qualifying BMI measurements during their first year in HS and 352 of those children (41%) had follow-up data in their second year. There was a decrease in BMI between years 1 and 2 in HS that approached statistical significance ( t  = 1.83, P  = .07, d  = .10). There were no statistically significant changes in the percent of overweight (Wald χ 2  = .50, P  = .48) or obese (Wald χ 2  = 1.71, P  = .19) children between the first and second year., Conclusion: The FFI wellness program can be feasibly integrated into the HS curriculum and shows promising short-term results in improving BMI, but not to a statistically significant level when evaluated over 1 year.