This is a report of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (Food and Nutrition Board), published here by permission.
This report (1) identifies the number and nature of recent studies that have examined the effectiveness of three WIC services—nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referral services—and (2) summarizes what the research shows about the effectiveness of these specific nutrition services.
In 1994, FNS initiated the WIC Nutrition Education Demonstration Study. The demonstration had two components: a comparison of the effects of innovative and traditional WIC nutrition education for prenatal participants; and a study of the feasibility and effectiveness of providing nutrition education to preschool (three-and-four-year-old) WIC participants. The report summarized here describes the design and implementation of the child nutrition education demonstration and presents findings describing the effectiveness of the demonstration.
The study evaluated the effectiveness of three innovative approaches to nutrition education in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Two of these education innovations were designed for educating prenatal women; the third focused on nutrition education for 3- and 4-year-old WIC participants. This executive summary and report describe the evaluation and results of the educational interventions for prenatal women.
GAO Report to Congressional Committees on Food Assistance: Performance Measures for Assessing Three WIC Services