The proposed study will build on and extend work generated by the Synergistic Theory and Research Obesity and Nutrition Group (STRONG) Kids (SK) research initiative. The SK initiative is a multi-disciplinary project to study longitudinal determinants of obesity during early childhood. The proposed study will be an independent subproject within the SK initiative, gathering additional data from teachers, staff, and project administrators from Head Start and child care programs participating in the larger SK project. This study has three specific aims: (1) compute a cumulative risk index for childhood obesity using the Six-Cs model of environmental influences; (2) identify factors that influence Head Start and child care providers feeding practices and verbal communications during mealtimes; and (3) investigate Head Start and child care directors' perceptions of current nutrition standards for early care and education programs. An expected outcome of the study is effective prediction of children who are at greatest risk of childhood obesity. Information gained from this study will provide policymakers and early childhood professionals with new insights that can guide the development of interventions designed to more effectively address early childhood obesity.