Childhood obesity continues to rise and is becoming more prevalent. Mostly caused by a Strong impact on families of low socio-economic level In Catalonia, the disease already affects 12.6% of children and adolescents. With the aim of finding a strategy to reverse this situation, the Ministry of Health promoted an initiative five years ago Pilot test in the Mina district of Barcelona Reducing obesity rates in children by adopting healthier lifestyles and changes in society that support healthy eating and exercise.
In the face of good results, since according to the Ministry of Health, the proportion of boys and girls suffering from excess fat in the neighborhood decreased from 26% to 25%, the government decided to expand the measure to include 28 primary care teams (EAP) from all over the world. On Catalonia. The plan will focus specifically on nutrition, physical activity, emotional support, sleep, positive parenting and community engagement. The 28 teams selected had a higher prevalence of overweight than the rest of the teams and greater social vulnerability.
Among these teams were initially selected There is only one in the provinces of Girona. It's about to Girona 3, which includes the primary care centers of Montelivi and Villa Roja with a reference population of 35,000 people. Residents of Girona east of the neighborhoods of Villa Roja, Font de la Polvora, Mas Ramada and Group Sant Daniel will be affected above all.
Going forward, the participating professionals will be trained and will receive global support from the Public Health Agency of Catalonia. We will also work in coordination with local and community organizations in the area to identify community resources and assets, conduct joint community intervention and promote health from the environment, among other things by promoting physical activity in community settings.
The intervention will take place from pre-conception to adolescence and will focus on the child and his or her family, with individual and group counseling for those children and families who need it, and with ongoing long-term support. The Ministry of Health points out that the matter should be person-centred, in a respectful and non-stigmatizing manner. Objectives must be realistic and agreed upon, with emphasis on interconnectedness to be established; Pay attention to sleeping hours; Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Reduce screen time, exercise, and avoid sugary drinks.
One in three children between the ages of 6 and 12 in Catalonia are overweight
Health officials Obesity rates are due to several factorsSuch as consuming processed foods rich in fat, salt and sugar; A more sedentary lifestyle, driven more by mobile phones or irregular schedules, with fewer hours of sleep, as indeed shows a study by the University of Barcelona published a few days ago linking the use of screens before bed with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in childhood.
Increased obesity
According to provisional data from the Catalan Health Survey (ESCA) 2022-2023, 33.9% of children between the ages of 6 and 12 years are overweight (38.6% males vs. 28.8% females), and among them 12.6% suffer from obesity (16.5% boys vs. 8.3% girls).
In addition, the prevalence of obesity in this age group (6-12 years) recorded in medical history (eCAP, 2022) is more than 8 times higher in an area with a low socio-economic level than in an area with a high socio-economic level. level.
On the other hand, 4.7% of children between the ages of 3 and 14 years drink sugary drinks on a daily basis, and this percentage increases to 6.4% among children of low social class.
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