Link: http://www.usda.gov/2009/04/0111.xml
Release No. 0111.09
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Office of Communications (202) 720-4623
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY TOM VILSACK SAYS WIC PROGRAM DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE TO BEING OVERWEIGHT
Report is one of Three Food Assistance Reports Issued Today
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that a USDA study being released today found that participation in USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is not related to being overweight.
"One of the most worrisome aspects of the growing tide of obesity in the United States is the high rate of overweight children," Vilsack said. "President Obama and I are concerned because over one in five young children, ages 2 to 5, are at risk of being overweight-and their numbers have grown in the past two decades."
Vilsack said he was pleased to learn that the overall results of WIC and the Battle Against Childhood Overweight, a report by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), found that body weight was not associated with WIC participation. The number of young children whose families participate in WIC doubled from 1.7 million in 1988 to 4.0 million in 2007.
The report noted that a study of girls in 1988-94 showed that WIC participants were less likely to be at risk of overweight than moderate-income children. This was the only instance in which a relationship between WIC participation and body weight was found for either boys or girls age 2 to 5.
WIC is one of 15 nutrition assistance programs administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. The program serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and counseling and health service referrals. Nearly nine million women, infants and children participate in the program each month. Nationally, 49% of all infants in the United States are WIC babies.
This report was one of three released today on USDA food assistance programs, which are administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.
The second report, The Food Assistance Landscape, examines trends in food and nutrition assistance programs from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, and discusses issues facing the National School Lunch Program. According to this report, federal expenditures for USDA's food assistance programs totaled $60.7 billion in fiscal 2008, 11 percent more than in the previous fiscal year-the largest percentage increase in 16 years.
Highlights of The Food Assistance Landscape include:
Fiscal 2008 marked the eighth consecutive year in which food assistance expenditures exceeded the previous historical record.
The five largest food assistance programs in fiscal 2008-the Food Stamp Program, which was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP in 2008, the National School Lunch Program, the WIC program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the School Breakfast Program accounted for 95 percent of USDA's expenditures for food assistance. Each of these programs expanded during fiscal 2008.
Spending for WIC totaled $6.2 billion, 15 percent more than in fiscal 2007, making it the fastest growing food assistance program during the year.
After rebates, per-person WIC food costs averaged $43.55 per month, an increase of almost 12 percent from the previous fiscal year. This increase, the largest ever, was due largely to the increase in food prices.
The third report, The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2009 Edition, identified and framed some of the numerous issues facing the program, focusing mainly on those with important economic implications. It found that almost half of all infants and about a quarter of all children ages 1 to 4 in the United States participate in the program. WIC is USDA's third-largest food and nutrition assistance program, with Federal expenditures accounting for 10 percent of total Federal spending on food and nutrition assistance in FY 2008.
WIC and the Battle Against Childhood Overweight is available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eb13/ ; The Food Assistance Landscape is available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB6-6/ ; The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2009 Edition is available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err73 .
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