IntroductionChildhood obesity has been associated with the intake of energy-dense foods and sedentary lifestyle, and with mental health indicators such as anxiety and perception of body image. In Mexico it has not been studied the relationship between these variables in children.

No abstract

A health promotion program ‐1,2,3 Por Nuestra Salud ‐was conducted with 220 Mexican children (60% boys) with ages from 8 to 12 years. The sample included children from two elementary schools who were compared with a third school where the program was not executed. The aim of the program was to promote a healthy style through ludic activities and the acquisition of knowledge about healthy diet and physical activity. When compared to the control group, the intervention group presented significantly higher frequencies of fruit and vegetable consumption (X2, p=0.007) and non large portion selection (X2, p=0.022) and significantly lower frequencies of milk with sugar consumption (X2, p=0.003) and when buying food at school (junk food) (X2, p=0.021). The program produced successful results in variables known to be associated to overweight development but some changes should be implemented in future applications of the program in order to reach goals in variables related to physical activity where differences were not seen. Grant Funding Source: Supported by DIFEM

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of a two‐years follow up summer workshop on the nutrition knowledge, availability, preference and self‐efficacy in a group of Mexican school aged children from low socioeconomic status.Material and MethodsIn this cohort study, 14 school‐aged children (7 boys and 7 girls) registered in a summer workshop implemented in a low socioeconomic status area in México City. Children were asked to complete a questionnaire to measure dimensions of eating behavior focused on four components: knowledge, preferences, food availability and self‐efficacy, asking about fruit and vegetables consumption as well as feeding schedule. Also, anthropometrics were obtained and Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist‐to‐Height Ratio (WtHR) were calculated. Descriptive statistics, X2 tests, Friedman and Wilcoxon analysis were performed. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA prevalence of 14.31% of children with cardiovascular risk was observed, using WtHR (p=0.308). In relation of the determinants of feeding behavior an improvement in the knowledge (p<0.001) and self‐efficacy were sustained over time (p<0.001) meanwhile preferences and availability remained without changes. It was observed a trend of improvement for all feeding behavior determinants higher in girls compared with boys.ConclusionsThere is little evidence that dietary habits persist after an nutrition education intervention, in a sample of Mexican children of low socioeconomic status who attended a summer workshop, the changes of knowledge and self‐efficacy, considered as determinants of feeding behavior are maintained over time, after a two years follow‐up.Grant Funding Source: Universidad Iberoamericana