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Consensus Study Report

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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) began 40 years ago as a pilot program and has since grown to serve over 8 million pregnant women, and mothers of and their infants and young children. Today the program serves more than a quarter of the pregnant women and half of the infants in the United States, at an annual cost of about $6.2 billion. Through its contribution to the nutritional needs of pregnant, breastfeeding, and post-partum women; infants; and children under 5 years of age; this federally supported nutrition assistance program is integral to meeting national nutrition policy goals for a significant portion of the U.S. population.

To assure the continued success of the WIC, Congress mandated that the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reevaluate the program's food packages every 10 years. In 2014, the USDA asked the Institute of Medicine to undertake this reevaluation to ensure continued alignment with the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This, the second report of this series, provides a summary of the work of phase I of the study, and serves as the analytical underpinning for phase II in which the committee will report its final conclusions and recommendations.

Suggested Citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Review of WIC Food Packages: Proposed Framework for Revisions: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/21832.

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Publication Info

586 pages |  6 x 9 | 

ISBNs: 
  • Paperback:  978-0-309-38000-3
  • Ebook:  978-0-309-38003-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/21832
Chapters skim
Front Matter i-xvi
Summary 1-12
1 Introduction and Background 13-44
2 The WIC Participant Experience 45-78
3 Approach to the Task 79-118
4 Nutrient Intakes of WIC-Eligible Populations 119-158
5 Food Intake of WIC-Eligible Populations 159-194
6 Nutrition-Related Health Risks in the WIC Population 195-234
7 Promotion, Motivation, and Support of Breastfeeding with the WIC Food Packages 235-264
8 Meeting Diverse Dietary Needs and Preferences: Considerations for the WIC Food Packages 265-278
9 Background and Approach to Considering Food Package Options 279-324
10 Food Expenditure Analysis 325-332
11 Findings and Conclusions 333-352
Appendix A: Acronyms and Abbreviations 353-356
Appendix B: Glossary 357-366
Appendix C: Comparison of Institute of Medicine 2006 Recommendations and Regulatory Implementation 367-372
Appendix D: Composition of the WIC Food Packages 373-380
Appendix E: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service Funded Studies Describing the Effect of the 2009 WIC Food Package Changes 381-390
Appendix F: Changes in the WIC Food Packages and Program Participation: Methods 391-396
Appendix G: Literature Findings on Barriers and Incentives to WIC Participation and Redemption 397-402
Appendix H: Workshop Agendas 403-408
Appendix I: Evidence Review Strategy 409-418
Appendix J: Dietary Reference Intake Values and Nutrients and Foods Analyzed 419-430
Appendix K: Diet Quality Indexes 431-436
Appendix L: Household Food Expenditure Analysis 437-440
Appendix M: Regulatory Impact Analysis Approach 441-442
Appendix N: Committee Perceptions of the WIC Experience 443-446
Appendix O: Summary Results from the Diet Quality of American Young Children by WIC Participation Status 447-450
Appendix P: Nutrient Intake of WIC and WIC-Eligible Populations 451-496
Appendix Q: Food Intake of WIC and WIC-Eligible Populations 497-522
Appendix R: Summary of National Dataset Characteristics Applied in the Evaluation of Health Risks 523-528
Appendix S: Breastfeeding Literature Findings 529-552
Appendix T: Chronology of Statutes Pertaining to the Definition of WIC Supplemental Foods 553-562
Appendix U: Committee Biosketches 563-570

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