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Parents’ perceptions of the importance and availability of nutrition and physical activity offerings in out‐of‐school time programs

Out‐of‐school time (OST) programs offer opportunities for obesity prevention as millions of children, many of whom are at increased risk for obesity, participate in these programs. Since standards for nutrition and physical activity (PA) vary by OST organization, identifying and understanding gaps, opportunities, and parents’ perceptions of OST program offerings are important. An online survey was conducted in 2012 among 600 parents of children aged 5–12 in the US, to gather perceptions of the importance and availability of healthy snacks and PA at the following OST organizations: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, National Council of La Raza, National 4‐H Council, National Urban League, Pop Warner, US Youth Soccer, and YMCA of the USA. Most parents reported it was important that children have access to water (95%), fruits and vegetables (78%) and PA (97%). A minority (26–29%) viewed sweetened beverages and less healthy snacks as important. Only about half (57%) of parents reported that water was available, and fewer reported fruits and vegetables (16%) and PA (33%) availability at every OST meeting. 62% of parents agreed that OST organizations share responsibility to create healthy settings for children. The discrepancies between parental perceptions of the importance of OST healthy nutrition and PA, and what is currently available must be addressed in developing interventions to reverse the child obesity epidemic. RWJF