Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children is a six-year, $6 million initiative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation and The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC) created to increase the number of children starting kindergarten at a healthy weight.
Why Is It Important? At a time when the nation is facing rising health care costs and high obesity rates, Shape NC is taking a preventive approach to proactively address the issue, focusing on the state’s youngest children. Children who are obese by age 6 have greater than a 50 percent likelihood of becoming obese adults. Almost a third of adult North Carolinians are obese. Approximately 38 percent of North Carolina’s children are enrolled in almost 5000 regulated childcare centers, where they receive most meals and spend most of their waking hours. Shape NC helps communities and child care centers develop environments, practices and policies that encourage young children to be healthy. Three major statewide programs are used to support the implementation of Shape NC:
Be Active Kids
Go NAP SACC
Be Active Kids is an innovative, interactive health program for North Carolina children ages birth to five.
Go NAP SACC is an online tool for early care and education programs interested in building healthy eating and physical activity habits in children.
NLI The Natural Learning Initiative promotes the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children.
Shape NC Is Growing The next phase of the project will focus on bringing Shape NC to more children across the state. We will: Expand the Shape NC program to 240 additional child care centers. Continue to engage local communities to support early childhood obesity prevention.
