Posted June 10, 2009
You might say the low-income women in the federal Women, Infants and Children program are a captive audience. If they listen to the program’s message and follow the rules about nutrition, the federal government will provide them with some food items and money to buy certain products.
The trouble has been that this captive audience was given conflicting messages and downright bad advice for many years. The program focused on high-fat food like cheese but advised mothers to reduce fat in their diets. Infant formula was routinely provided to newborns while advisers told new moms that breast-feeding was preferable.
But those inconsistencies will change this summer, when new guidelines go into effect. And it’s about time for a change. Starting July 1 pregnant women, new mothers and their children up to age 5 will get monthly food packages that reflect 2005 dietary guidelines with less fat, more whole grains and more money for fresh vegetables. Pregnant women will be taught about the benefits of breast-feeding, and nursing mothers will be given more milk and eggs and cash for fresh produce and high-protein fish.
Breast-fed babies 6 months old will get more jars of baby fruits, vegetables and meat than formula-fed infants. The emphasis on breast-feeding is a no-brainer. When the best food for infants — breast milk — is available free, why encourage low-income women to choose formula by handing them a package of the stuff?
WIC has been an
effective government program for the poor since 1980, focusing on giving infants and children a nutrition boost both before and after they’re born by educating pregnant women and new mothers about what foods they and their youngsters need and providing the basics.
Its requirements that women take classes on nutrition and health-conscious grocery shopping has helped millions of families improve their eating habits and their well-being.
The new guidelines reflect a national concern over obesity as well as recognition that previous rules conflicted with nutrition science. Some 22 percent of children 2 to 5 years old on the WIC program were found in 2005 to be obese. Limiting fatty foods should help these kids shed some weight and develop better eating habits.
Many of the women in the program are very young, some without high school diplomas. Some are married; many are not. They’re starting families with little or no preparation. WIC wisely ties free food to education, since these families need both.
Date: June 3, 2009
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