About this Data
The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (WICPPC) survey gathers data from all states on all participants. A strength of these data is that they are a census of all WIC participants and not just a sample of them. The data include height and weight measurements for children, which are collected by medical staff during certification visits, and then are used to calculate BMI and obesity rates among children ages 2 to 4. The data are gathered in April of even-numbered years, and analyzed by the CDC.
Data for 2000, 2004 are available from: Pan L, Freedman DS, Sharma AJ, et al. Trends in Obesity Among Participants Aged 2-4 Years in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – United States, 2000–2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2016;65:1256–1260. DOI.
Data for 2008 and beyond are available from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Data, Trend and Maps [online]. [accessed Jul 20, 2021].
