The new WHO growth standards for children aged 0 - 5 years are a major improvement on previous reference standards. The risk of obesity is related to children ' s growth, development, behaviors and environments in the early years of their lives. Appropriate nutrition requirements should be used to guide education directed at parents of infants, and policy -based requirements are needed in care settings. With more young children going into child care earlier, it is important that there should be regulation regarding the nutritional quality of the foods and drinks provided, and the opportunities for physical activity in these settings. Adequate structured and unstructured active play is needed for children to maintain a healthy weight and also to develop the skills needed for lifelong participation in physical activity. Physical inactivity is also an issue in young children and strategies to limit or reduce screen -based activities in the home and child care settings are needed.© 1993 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-405-15889-3.