Dietary Risk Assessment in the WIC Program

Book excerpt: Dietary Risk Assessment in the WIC Program reviews methods used to determine dietary risk based on failure to meet Dietary Guidelines for applicants to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Applicants to the WIC program must be at nutritional risk to be eligible for program benefits. Although "dietary risk" is only one of five nutrition risk categories, it is the category most commonly reported among WIC applicants. This book documents that nearly all low-income women in the childbearing years and children 2 years and over are at risk because their diets fail to meet the recommended numbers of servings of the food guide pyramid. The committee recommends that all women and children (ages 2-4 years) who meet the eligibility requirements based on income, categorical and residency status also be presumed to meet the requirement of nutrition risk. By presuming that all who meet the categorical and income eligibility requirements are at dietary risk, WIC retains its potential for preventing and correcting nutrition-related problems while avoiding serious misclassification errors that could lead to denial of services for eligible individuals.