The findings are summarized in the committee's preliminary report, Proposed Criteria For Selecting the WIC Food Packages. In the first phase of the project described in this preliminary report, the committee considered evidence of three major types:

• Analyses of nutrient intakes using data from national surveys of dietary intake-These analyses compared intake data for low-income survey subjects to the most recent dietary standards (the Dietary Reference Intakes), and identified nutrient inadequacies as well as potentially excessive intakes.
• Evaluation of food intakes using published information showing how well the diets of low-income survey subjects conform to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid, and
• Identification of nutrition-related health risks and outcomes for women, infants, and children from the scientific medical literature.

The report outlines which nutrients and food groups should receive priority attention during the second phase of the project as the committee develops specific recommendations for changes in the WIC food packages that will be described in a second report to be released next year.

The Preliminary Report Proposed Criteria for Selecting the WIC Food Packages can be downloaded for free via http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11078.html

If you would like to provide comments regarding the content of the Preliminary Report Proposed Criteria for Selecting the WIC Food Packages, please contact us via email at WIC2005@nas.edu.