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[An Early Obesity Prevention Program: HaViSa UC (2009-2019)]
1División de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Revista Chilena De Pediatria
|July 31, 2020
Summary
Childhood obesity prevention is crucial. A 10-year program significantly reduced obesity and overweight rates in preschoolers, demonstrating lasting positive effects on child health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant global nutritional and epidemiological challenge.
- Effective prevention strategies are vital for long-term child health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a multidimensional obesity prevention program for infants and preschoolers.
- To assess changes in overweight and obesity prevalence 10 years after program implementation.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective, quasi-experimental study analyzed anthropometric data from 2009-2019.
- The HaViSa-UC program focused on nutritional assessment, parental communication, healthy food provision, and lifestyle education.
- Data from 3 nursery and preschool centers were analyzed using WHO 2006 standards and Minitab 17 software.
Main Results:
- Overweight prevalence decreased from 32.6% to 23.8%, and obesity from 8.6% to 4.7% over 10 years.
- Normal weight increased from 56.9% to 67.4%, with no increase in malnutrition.
- A significant reduction in zW/H (p: 0.00) was observed, indicating improved weight-for-height status.
Conclusions:
- The HaViSa-UC program achieved a 45.4% decrease in obesity and a 27.2% decrease in overweight among participating children.
- These positive results remained stable 10 years post-implementation, highlighting the program's sustained impact.
- Early, multidimensional lifestyle interventions are effective in combating childhood obesity.