The impact of a nutritional health and school food environment promotion program in public elementary schools ; Impacto de un programa de promoción de la salud nutricional y ambiente alimentario escolar en escuelas primarias públicas

Introduction: Keys to preventing childhood obesity include implementing prevention programs in schools and the presence of policies that promote healthy environments. The objective of this study was to assess the to evaluate the impact of a nutrition education program (NEP), while considering the school food environment (SFE) and home. Materials and methods: We identified factors that influence eating behavior and evaluated the nutritional status of children from 13 public elementary schools in the city of Hermosillo, in northeast Mexico, before and after the NEP. Results: One in every four participating students were overweight or obese. Over half of the schools do not follow official regulations about which food should be offered; even so, the parents’ response permitted the reduction of the total energy consumption through the meals and snacks at home. After the implementation and evaluation of the NEP, SFE was found to be the main barrier to the promotion of healthy lifestyles.Discussion: To address the current obesogenic environment, a greater commitment of authorities is needed through the promotion of regulatory strategies in school settings that support healthy food choices and increased physical activity. ; Introducción: Los programas de prevención de obesidad infantil que incluyen al ambiente escolar y se apoyan en políticas públicas que promueven ambientes saludables, presentan mayores oportunidades de éxito. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el impacto de un Programa de Educación Nutricional (PREN), considerando el ambiente alimentario escolar (AAE) y del hogar. Materiales y métodos: Se identificaron los factores que influyen en las conductas alimentarias y se evaluó el estado nutricional de niños de 13 escuelas primarias púbicas en la ciudad de Hermosillo, en el noroeste de México, antes y después del PREN (2014-2016). Resultados: Uno de cada 4 escolares participantes presentó sobrepeso u obesidad. Más de la mitad de las escuelas no siguieron las regulaciones oficiales en la oferta de ...