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Descriptive statistics for children, mothers and fathers by child's sex
Source publication
Background:
Portugal has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe. Few studies have explored the relationship between parents' perceptions of their residential neighbourhood (safety concerns and amenities of the built environment) and their children's weight status. This study aims to examine the associations between parents' percep...
Citations
... Maternal obesity has even been associated with decreased initiation of breastfeeding, reduced duration of breastfeeding, along with inadequate milk supply compared with their normal weight counterparts. 9 The drivers of overweight and obesity occur at the individual level (age, gender, inadequate physical activity, unhealthy food habits, undernutrition in early life, nutrition literacy and increased screen time), [10][11][12][13][14] interpersonal level (paternal and maternal nutrition status, inadequate breastfeeding practices and early introduction to formula foods, 15 education status, household income, socio-economic status, obesogenic home environment), [16][17][18] community (obesogenic food environment, inadequate physical activity environment), [18][19][20] organisational level (obesogenic food environment, inadequate physical activity environment), [18][19][20] and at policy environments (policies that enable or constrain physical activity and healthy eating). This suggest that unhealthy dietary habits and lack of physical activity are not primarily attributed to individual choices, as they are influenced by multiple factors operating across these levels. ...
... Maternal obesity has even been associated with decreased initiation of breastfeeding, reduced duration of breastfeeding, along with inadequate milk supply compared with their normal weight counterparts. 9 The drivers of overweight and obesity occur at the individual level (age, gender, inadequate physical activity, unhealthy food habits, undernutrition in early life, nutrition literacy and increased screen time), [10][11][12][13][14] interpersonal level (paternal and maternal nutrition status, inadequate breastfeeding practices and early introduction to formula foods, 15 education status, household income, socio-economic status, obesogenic home environment), [16][17][18] community (obesogenic food environment, inadequate physical activity environment), [18][19][20] organisational level (obesogenic food environment, inadequate physical activity environment), [18][19][20] and at policy environments (policies that enable or constrain physical activity and healthy eating). This suggest that unhealthy dietary habits and lack of physical activity are not primarily attributed to individual choices, as they are influenced by multiple factors operating across these levels. ...
Background The Indian government is committed to address various manifestations of malnutrition, including overweight and obesity, inorder to improve individual health and well-being. The scoping review aims to map existing national policy instruments (programmes, schemes, regulations and guidelines) addressing overweight and obesity in India and analysing them for Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategies. Methods Systematic identification and selection of policy instruments using ‘Arksey and O’Malley’ framework was conducted from central government ministry websites, between March and June 2023. These instruments focused on nutrition and/or physical activity, targeting specific demographic groups like pregnant women, lactating mothers, children (0-5 years and 5-9 years), or adolescents (10-19 years); excluding those focusing on specific diseases like micronutrient deficiencies, wasting, and stunting. Based on search strategy six policy instruments were included and analysed for SBCC strategies. Results While many policy instruments incorporated SBCC plans; the ‘National Programme for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD)’ stands out as a significant policy initiative specifically targeting the prevention of overweight and obesity within the broader context of Non-Communicable Diseases. It adopts a comprehensive approach addressing key drivers contributing to overweight/obesity across multiple levels of behavioural influence i.e., individual, interpersonal, community and organisation for health promotion. However, there’s need to strengthen SBCC strategies related to prevention and management of obesity, especially screening and counselling, to cover all age groups with a particular focus on adolescents and youth. SBCC strategies can also be incorporated into India’s Integrated Nutrition Support Programme (POSHAN 2.0) and/or Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) under the National Health Mission. Conclusion This paper underscores the necessity for comprehensive strategies to address multifaceted origin of overweight and obesity. The NP-NCD stands out as a noteworthy initiative, and there is considerable potential for other programmes to emulate it SBCC strategies to bolster their overall effectiveness. Note : *Policy instrument’s throughout the paper has been used to cover programmes, schemes, regulations and guidelines.
... According to Tables 2 and 3, nine studies measured perceived access to sidewalks (Jones et al., 2009;Singh et al., 2010;Davidson et al., 2010;Ferrao et al., 2013;Evenson et al., 2007;Maghelal et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2023;Oyeyemi et al., 2012) by a selfreported questionnaire of perceived neighborhood environments. Meanwhile, 12 studies used 400-1,600-meter road-network, radial network or line-based network buffers for describing distances to represent the radius and line tracing of the distance from a home address via the street network around each residence (James et al., 2014). ...
... Tables 2 and 3 indicate that 20 out of 33 studies (60%) had a significant negative correlation between access to sidewalks and weight-related outcomes, suggesting that urban dwellers with greater sidewalk access have better weight-related outcomes (10 out of 17 studies are children and adolescences -10 out of 16 studies are adults). The studies were assessed based on access to sidewalks (Singh et al., 2010), parks (Singh et al., 2010;White et al., 2020), recreation centers (Sandy et al., 2013;Singh et al., 2010), presence of sidewalks and shoulders (Catlin et al., 2003;White et al., 2020;Van Hulst et al., 2013;Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017;Boehmer et al., 2007;Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a), sidewalk completeness (Duncan et al., 2014), sidewalk availability (Koohsari et al., 2018), residential density and maintained pedestrian facilities (Oyeyemi et al., 2012), distance to the nearest subway station (Oreskovic et al., 2009), sidewalk connectivity (McAlexander et al., 2009, perceived neighborhood safety, quality of local sidewalks (Ferrao et al., 2013;Maghelal et al., 2021), pedestrian friendliness (Van Hulst et al., 2013), street integration and space syntax walkability (Nichani et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2023) and preference on walking to the grocery stores rather than using transportation/cars (Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a). The presence of sidewalks has been found to affect BMI in 14 of the 20 studies (Koohsari et al., 2018;Sandy et al., 2013;Singh et al., 2010;Catlin et al., 2003;Davidson et al., 2010;Ferrao et al., 2013;White et al., 2020;Giles-Corti et al., 2003;Powell-Wiley et al., 2013;Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017;Wang et al., 2023;Boehmer et al., 2007Oyeyemi et al., 2012Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a) through higher access to sidewalks (Singh et al., 2010), neighborhood safety and the quality of local sidewalks (Ferrao et al., 2013;Evenson et al., 2007), walking paths availability in the way of recreational centers (Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017) and grocery stores (Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a). ...
... The studies were assessed based on access to sidewalks (Singh et al., 2010), parks (Singh et al., 2010;White et al., 2020), recreation centers (Sandy et al., 2013;Singh et al., 2010), presence of sidewalks and shoulders (Catlin et al., 2003;White et al., 2020;Van Hulst et al., 2013;Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017;Boehmer et al., 2007;Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a), sidewalk completeness (Duncan et al., 2014), sidewalk availability (Koohsari et al., 2018), residential density and maintained pedestrian facilities (Oyeyemi et al., 2012), distance to the nearest subway station (Oreskovic et al., 2009), sidewalk connectivity (McAlexander et al., 2009, perceived neighborhood safety, quality of local sidewalks (Ferrao et al., 2013;Maghelal et al., 2021), pedestrian friendliness (Van Hulst et al., 2013), street integration and space syntax walkability (Nichani et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2023) and preference on walking to the grocery stores rather than using transportation/cars (Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a). The presence of sidewalks has been found to affect BMI in 14 of the 20 studies (Koohsari et al., 2018;Sandy et al., 2013;Singh et al., 2010;Catlin et al., 2003;Davidson et al., 2010;Ferrao et al., 2013;White et al., 2020;Giles-Corti et al., 2003;Powell-Wiley et al., 2013;Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017;Wang et al., 2023;Boehmer et al., 2007Oyeyemi et al., 2012Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a) through higher access to sidewalks (Singh et al., 2010), neighborhood safety and the quality of local sidewalks (Ferrao et al., 2013;Evenson et al., 2007), walking paths availability in the way of recreational centers (Schuler and O'Reilly, 2017) and grocery stores (Al-Ateeq and Al-Hargan, 2014a). four of these studies showed that sidewalk completeness (Duncan et al., 2014;Song et al., 2020;Nichani et al., 2021) could reduce BMI through the higher length of the covered footpaths (Song et al., 2020), street integration and space syntax walkability (Nichani et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2023). ...
Purpose
To effectively combat the increasing rates of obesity, it is crucial to explore how environmental factors like sidewalk access impact weight-related outcomes. This study aimed to systematically examine the association between sidewalk accessibility and weight-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Databases were searched by keywords for relevant articles, which were published before March 3, 2024, to report the role of neighborhood sidewalk access on weight-related outcomes. The main findings of the selected articles were extracted from eligible studies by two independent reviewers.
Findings
A total of 20 out of 33 studies indicated a significant negative relationship between access to sidewalks and weight-related outcomes. Three studies demonstrated an indirect relationship between access to sidewalks and weight-related outcomes by greater access to physical environments. In addition, five studies reported no clear relationship, and three studies reported a significantly positive relationship between access to sidewalks and weight-related outcomes.
Practical implications
In general, people who live in urban areas with better sidewalk access benefit from better weight-related outcomes. Adults showed this correlation more prominently than adolescents and children. Therefore, sidewalks that have a positive effect on physical activity levels could be considered as a preventive measure against obesity.
Originality/value
One of the weight-related outcomes is obesity. Every community faces numerous challenges due to obesity, which adversely affects the quality of life and health. Environmental factors such as access to sidewalks could be associated with body weight due to lifestyle influences.
... Associations between evenings or hours after dark, PA and active travel have been found regarding gender, road environment design, parents' perception and parental licenses (47)(48)(49)(50)(51). Beyond daylight hours, few girls (age 15) were physically active outside (51). ...
... Good outdoor lighting was perceived by parents as important to enable children's travel to school during the long period of darkness that the winter entails (50). When parents viewed their neighborhood as unsafe for their children (age 3-10) to walk after dark, the children were more likely to be obese (48). ...
Introduction
Independent mobility is every child's right and has implications for their health, wellbeing, and development. This scoping review addresses children's needs and experiences of light conditions in their everyday outdoor life. The review examines peer-reviewed scientific literature that analyses associations between different light conditions and children's independent mobility (CIM) during dark hours.
Methods
By formulating a Boolean search string, including terms related to children independent mobility, light and outdoor environment, five scientific databases were searched. The search resulted in 67 eligible papers that were analyzed through an inductive, thematic analysis.
Results
Four overarching themes representing the researched topics of the effects of light conditions with importance for CIM during dark hours were identified: (1) physical activity (PA) and active travel, (2) outdoor activities and place use, (3) safety perception, and (4) outdoor risks. The findings highlight that darkness constitutes a major obstacle for CIM, and that fear of darkness is common among children. It restricts the degree of CIM and influences children's safety perception as well as how they navigate through public places outdoors. The findings show that the type and design of outdoor settings during dark hours and children's familiarity with places during daytime could play a role in the degree of CIM after dark. The presence of outdoor lighting is related to children's increased PA and active travel, and outdoor lighting seems to also influence children's place use and interaction with the environment. The presence and extent of outdoor lighting and lighting quality may play a role in children's safety perception, which in turn can influence CIM.
Discussion
The findings suggest that promoting CIM during dark hours might not only contribute to the accumulation of children's PA, confidence, and skills, but also support mental health. The understanding of children's perspectives on the quality of outdoor lighting needs to be deepened to support CIM. Highlighting the child perspective would aid the development of current recommendations for outdoor lighting and the implementation of the Agenda 2030 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages, and making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable throughout the day and seasons.
... As shown in Table 1, the earliest study was published in 2005, 17 and the majority were published between 2010 and 2017 (n = 12). [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]16,[21][22][23][24] Most of them were conducted in the United States (n = 13), [8][9][10][11][13][14][15]17,[20][21][22][23][24] followed by Canada, 12 Australia, 18 Portugal, 16 and China 19 (all n = 1). All but two 21,23 used crosssectional design. ...
... As shown in Table 1, the earliest study was published in 2005, 17 and the majority were published between 2010 and 2017 (n = 12). [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]16,[21][22][23][24] Most of them were conducted in the United States (n = 13), [8][9][10][11][13][14][15]17,[20][21][22][23][24] followed by Canada, 12 Australia, 18 Portugal, 16 and China 19 (all n = 1). All but two 21,23 used crosssectional design. ...
... Sample sizes varied substantially from 80 to 113 767, with a median of 2690. All of the included studies focused on young children or adolescents, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] with two studies exclusively focused on young children (aged <10) 16,18 and eight solely on adolescents (aged 10-18). [11][12][13]15,17,19,21,24 These studies used various statistical models to estimate the association between access to sidewalks and weight-related behaviors or outcomes, including mixed-effects models, generalized estimated equation models, multinomial logistic regressions, hierarchical linear regressions, spatial simultaneous autoregressive error models, t-tests, and z-tests. ...
The lack of access to sidewalks is a barrier for physical activity (PA) and may be a risk factor for childhood obesity. However, previous studies reported mixed findings and the association between sidewalk accessibility and childhood obesity remains unclear. This study systematically examined the evidence on the association between sidewalk accessibility and childhood obesity. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles (published before 1 January 2019) that reported on the association between neighborhood sidewalk access and weight‐related behaviors and outcomes in children. Seventeen studies conducted in five countries were included. Ten studies used objective measure of access to sidewalks, seven studies measured children's height and weight, and seven studies objectively measured the PA or sedentary behaviors. Ten studies reported on the association of better access to sidewalks with increased PA (β ranging from 0.032 to 2.159; p < 0.05), reduced sedentary behaviors (β ranging from −0.19 to −0.14; p < 0.05), lower body mass index (BMI) (β ranging from −0.261 to −0.144; p < 0.001), or obesity risks (OR ranging from 1.02 to 1.32; p < 0.05); while the remaining seven studies did not report a desirable obesity–sidewalk association. Our findings support the hypothesis that higher sidewalk accessibility is associated with higher PA levels, lower BMI, and obesity risks. Efforts in building healthy environments, including health‐promoting city planning, can help minimize the growing obesity epidemic and promote public health.
... Previous studies suggest that some aspects of the social and built environment are a risk factor for childhood obesity by discouraging time outside and physical activity (PA) behaviors, while encouraging more sedentary behaviors (SB) such as watching television (TV) (An, Yang, Hoschke, Xue, & Wang, 2017;Côté-Lussier, Mathieu, & Barnett, 2015;Tu, Mâsse, Lear, Gotay, & Richardson, 2016). Moreover, it has been hypothesized that changes to the neighborhood environment such as, improving access to parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, providing sidewalks and crosswalks, as well as safer, nonviolent and transit-friendly environments would facilitate or promote children's PA, reduce SB, and contribute to a lower prevalence of childhood obesity (Bacha et al., 2010;Côté-Lussier et al., 2015;Duke, Borowsky, & Pettingell, 2012;Ferrão et al., 2013). ...
... The present study found that the latent variable "Unsafety Environment" (ie, related with parental perception of excessive traffic, pedestrian unsafety and crime in the neighborhood) was independently associated with schoolchildren's higher BMI z score, more time watching TV and lower time spent in extracurricular PA. These results are consistent with previous findings in several countries showing that road safety or traffic, violence and fear of crime in urban environments are of concern to parents, and may directly influence children's PA, TV time and BMI (Côté-Lussier et al., 2015;Ferrão et al., 2013;Galaviz, Zytnick, Kegler, & Cunningham, 2016;Nogueira et al., 2013;Tu et al., 2016;Uys et al., 2016;Vanwolleghem et al., 2016). A recent meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found that living in unsafe neighborhoods was associated with a reduction in children's PA by 0.13 hour/ week and associated with a gain in BMI by 0.018 SDs (95% CI = 0.009, 0.026) . ...
... Nevertheless, the examination of the direct relation of neighborhood safety with BMI z score, overweight and obesity have yielded mixed results; some reporting an association (Bacha et al., 2010;Ferrão et al., 2013), while others do not (Burdette & Whitaker, 2005;Datar, Nicosia, & Shier, 2013). According to the socioecological model, proximal individual, and interpersonal factors may have stronger associations with childhood overweight than neighborhood factors (Davison & Birch, 2001) which may help to explain the weak association found between parental perception of the neighborhood as unsafe and children's BMI. ...
Objectives:
The environment is believed to be key in obesity prevention, yet it is unclear how factors in the neighborhood influence weight-related behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of parental perceived environment on physical activity (PA), television (TV) time, active play and Body Mass Index (BMI) z score, and the mediating role of these weight-related behaviors on the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and children's BMI.
Methods:
Data of 8472 Portuguese preschool (aged 3-6, n = 3819) and school-aged children (aged 7-11 years, n = 4653) were collected during 2016/2017. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the associations between parents perceived neighborhood characteristics (latent variables: unsafety and built/physical environment) and child's BMI z score, PA and TV time.
Results:
Among preschoolers, the latent variables of the perceived environment were not associated with the BMI, TV time, extracurricular PA, and active play. Among schoolchildren, the unsafety environment was positively associated with both the BMI (SC = 0.050, P = .008) and the time spent watching TV (SC = 0.052, P = .031) and negatively associated with extracurricular PA (SC = -0.125, P < .001). The latent variable Favorable Built Environment for PA (ie, environmental facilitating elements) was positively associated with active play (SC = 0.041, P = .031). Moreover, the TV time was a marginally significant mediator of the relationship between the perceived unsafe environment and the BMI of school-aged children (B = 0.002, P = .096).
Conclusions:
In conclusion, changes in the environment to targeting parental perception of neighborhood safety could have positive effects on the promotion of healthy weight and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle in school-aged children.
... Individuals characterized by a decreased feeling of safety experience greater loneliness and anxiety (Davidson, Butchko, Robbins, Sherd, & Gervais, 2016), increased depressive states (Zule et al., 2008), stress (Henderson, Child, Moore, Moore, & Kaczynski, 2016), and tend to not venture outside, which in turn leads to increased probability of being obese (Ferrão et al., 2013;Towne et al., 2016). In addition, lack of safety within the confines of a neighborhood, has also been linked with increased proactive aggression (Fite et al., 2010), and decreased life satisfaction and participation in group related activities (Renzaho, Richardson, & Strugnell, 2012). ...
Safety is a prerequisite for living a fulfilling and happy life. It is also an integral component of positive and negative peace and a basic foundation of social justice. However, personal safety has been understudied in psychological literature, as has its role as an antecedent of well-being and social justice. To address this, the current study provided evidence for the association of personal safety with positive life outcomes. Analyses were conducted using data from 59 countries via the World Values Survey. After controlling for subjective socioeconomic status, significant positive associations were observed between personal safety and increased: (H1) self-flourishment, operationally defined as subjective happiness, satisfaction with life, and subjective health; (H2) perceived freedom in one's life; (H3) perceived fairness in one's life; (H4) active membership within a local community; and (H5) increased trust in others. An examination of the effect of victimization as a stressor of personal safety was also conducted, with personal victimization (H6), and the victimization of a family member (H7), both acting as stressors of personal safety in most of the countries. Replication rates among the 59 countries were higher for hypotheses H1 and H6-H7. Replication rates for hypotheses H2-H5 were also observed but toq a lower degree, with higher percentages observed in western and English-speaking countries. Personal safety is a crucial component of our society, worthy of further and more comprehensive investigations.
... Six studies examined parents' perception regarding the risk factors of childhood obesity, parents perceived that genetic factors, less vegetable-consumption, low physical activity as key risk factors of childhood obesity 15 . Further, three studies revealed that parents perceived environmental factors such as poorly built environmental conditions, unsafe, dangerous environments, environmental barriers, and poorly maintained sidewalks had increased odds of being obese 41,39,49 . Other studies showed that parents perceived that low physical activity and additional hours of watching television as risk factors of childhood obesity 40 . ...
... This is supported by another study which found that parents felt the dietary lifestyle of children may affect their body weight status and increased risk of childhood obesity 54,55 . The results obtained from this study suggest that when parents perceive their environment as unsafe, danger neighborhood for their children to walk as having poor sidewalk conditions and having high traffic load that create barriers to physical activity, children are more likely to be obese 39,41 . Moreover, some parents perceived that low physical activity time and more hours of watching television may increase the risk of being obese 40,10 . ...
The increased prevalence of childhood obesity is becoming a public health concern as it is related to numerous health implications. Parental perception of child’s weight status is an important factor for reducing childhood obesity burden. Parental perception of the risk factors and health outcomes of obesity are important in prevention and management of childhood obesity. However, previous reviews focused mainly on parental perceptions about healthy behaviors to reduce the burden of childhood obesity. Thus, this systematic review was carried out to investigate parental perceptions of their child weight status as well as risk factors and health concern of childhood obesity. A systematic review was conducted and was reported in accordance with PRISMA statement on studies between 2012 and 2017 through a variety of database like CINAHL, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Cochrane Library. However, out of 2,334 articles identified, only 35 studies were included, which originate mostly from high-income countries. The results revealed that parents’ misperception rate of their children’s weight varies from 9.6% to 90%, while parents perceptive that only genetic factors, non-vegetable-consumption or low physical activity and environmental factors are the key risk factors of childhood obesity. Hence, parents’ of obese children estimate their children to be at risk at having hypertension, heart disease, depression, and diabetes. In conclusion, parents have difficulty in correctly perceiving the obesity status of their children. Health care workers should be aware of the parents’ wrong perception of their children’s weight status. The result of this review may be used to develop an effective intervention programs aimed at reducing the burden of childhood obesity which focus on the parental perception of the risk factors contributing to childhood obesity.
... [10][11][12] However, there are large between-neighbourhood variations in the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity [13][14][15][16][17] and certain neighbourhood features are associated with increased risk of becoming obese. 8 Walkability, 18 land-use mix, 19 presence of green space and other recreational facilities, 17,20,21 socio-economic deprivation, 14,15 safety 22 and availability of certain types of food outlets 23,24 are among the most consistent neighbourhood correlates of childhood obesity. However, these findings have limited public health utility, as very few investigations have identified where the neighbourhoods of greatest risk ('hotspots') are located, and even fewer have tried to explain why these geographical hotspots exist. ...
Background:
Effective place-based interventions for childhood obesity call for the recognition of the high-risk neighbourhoods and an understanding of the determinants present locally. However, such an approach is uncommon. In this study, we identified neighbourhoods with elevated prevalence of childhood obesity ('hotspots') in the Porto Metropolitan Area and investigated to what extent the socio-economic and built environment characteristics of the neighbourhoods explained such hotspots.
Methods:
We used data on 5203 7-year-old children from a population-based birth cohort, Generation XXI. To identify hotspots, we estimated local obesity odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) using generalized additive models with a non-parametric smooth for location. Measures of the socio-economic and built environment were determined using a Geographic Information System. Associations between obesity and neighbourhood characteristics were expressed as OR and 95%CI after accounting for individual-level variables.
Results:
At 7 years of age, 803 (15.4%) children were obese. The prevalence of obesity varied across neighbourhoods and two hotspots were identified, partially explained by individual-level variables. Adjustment for neighbourhood characteristics attenuated the ORs and further explained the geographic variation. This model revealed an association between neighbourhood socio-economic deprivation score and obesity (OR = 1.014, 95%CI 1.004-1.025), as well as with the presence of fast-food restaurants at a walkable distance from the residence (OR = 1.37, 1.06-1.77).
Conclusions:
In our geographic area it was possible to identify neighbourhoods with elevated prevalence of childhood obesity and to suggest that targeting such high-priority neighbourhoods and their environmental characteristics may help reduce childhood obesity.
... Introduction: Portuguese children have one of the highest rates of overweight/obesity among European countries (31,5%) [1]. Snacks are an important target in the prevention of overweight as they are modifiable components of diet and should be containing fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereals and dairy products [2]. ...
Introduction: Portuguese children have one of the highest rates of overweight/obesity among European countries (31,5%) [1 Ferrão M, Gama A, Marques V, et al. Association between parental perceptions of residential neighbourhood environments and childhood obesity in Porto, Portugal. European Journal of Public Health. 2013;23(6):1027–1031.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]. Snacks are an important target in the prevention of overweight as they are modifiable components of diet and should be containing fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereals and dairy products [2 Njike V, Smith T, Shuval O, et al. Snack Food, Satiety, and Weight. American Society for Nutrition. 2016;7:866–878. [Google Scholar]]. The present study aimed to identified dietary pattern of children snacks and evaluate their association with nutritional status.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional observational study included 61 children of both gender of elementary school in Sintra region. A written informed consent was obtained from parents of children and the study was carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 as revised in 2000. The nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric measures, percentiles and z-scores. Food consumption patterns was collected by registers photographs with covered a period of three non-consecutive days. Foods were coded and converted to gram weights by photographs book reference [3 Cunha A. Caraterização dos lanches escolares de crianças do Pré-escolar e 1ºCiclo do Ensino Básico do concelho de Chaves. Porto: FCNAUP; 2016. [Google Scholar]] and registers photographs. Labels information and Food Composition Chart (INSA) were used to analyze the nutritional composition of the food. Adequacy of snacks was evaluated by comparison of mean intake of energy and nutrients to Institute of Medicine recommended daily intakes [4 Institute of Medicine. School meals: building blocks for healthy children. Washington: The Nacional Academies Press; 2010. [Google Scholar]]. Association between the dietary pattern and nutritional status were evaluated with Spearman’s correlation coefficient. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean snacks calories, was 378.5kcal (±136.4) and the mean of snacks macronutrients was 10.9g, 14.1g and 53.9g, for protein, fat and carbohydrate, respectively. Regarding to sugar, the intake mean was 26.7g. Concerning nutritional status evaluation, 24.6% children are obese and 14.8% are pre-obese. No association between nutritional status and snacks dietary pattern was observed (p > 0.05).
Discussion and conclusions: The nutritional composition characterization of snacks reveals that this meal was above the recommended average as well as the mean of carbohydrate and lipid intake (22%) [4 Institute of Medicine. School meals: building blocks for healthy children. Washington: The Nacional Academies Press; 2010. [Google Scholar]]. This study showed no association between the snacks dietary pattern and the children nutritional status, however the results provide the information that snacks dietary patters should be enhancement in order to improve nutritional status of school children.
... For instance, low SES neighborhoods and neighborhoods with high concentrations of racial/ethnic minority residents tend to have higher concentrations of unhealthy foods and less access to affordable healthy foods; and individuals living in such neighborhoods are exposed to higher levels of crime and violence. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Increased exposure to neighborhood crime and violence, in particular, has been linked to reduced energy expenditure and lower physical activity levels. 8,[14][15][16] Thus, the potential effects of adverse neighborhood conditions on obesity risk are further compounded among individuals living in low-income, predominantly racial/ethnic minority communities. ...
... [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Increased exposure to neighborhood crime and violence, in particular, has been linked to reduced energy expenditure and lower physical activity levels. 8,[14][15][16] Thus, the potential effects of adverse neighborhood conditions on obesity risk are further compounded among individuals living in low-income, predominantly racial/ethnic minority communities. Other potential mechanisms by which neighborhoods contribute to obesity disparities include chronic psychosocial stress and structural factors such as racial segregation, concentrated poverty, and discrimination that may potentiate material deprivation and stress. ...
Background:
Childhood obesity increases the risk of obesity and harmful comorbidities later in life. It is influenced by characteristics of a child's neighborhood, particularly among underserved groups. Our objective was to systematically review the evidence relating neighborhood environment and obesity risk among urban, low socioeconomic status (SES) Black and Hispanic children.
Methods:
We included studies published from 1993 through early 2017 from PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Sociological Abstracts databases investigating relationships between empirically measured neighborhood characteristics and obesity risk factors in the populations of interest. Databases were last searched on May 8, 2018. Initial analysis took place during 2014 and was completed during 2017. We extracted data on study population, design, and associations between neighborhood characteristics and obesity risk factors.
Results:
We identified 2011 unique studies; 24 were included. Few studies demonstrated consistent patterns of association. Most neighborhood characteristics were not examined across multiple studies. BMI may be related to living in a lower-income neighborhood or convenience store access.
Conclusions:
This review found that the body of evidence relating neighborhood exposures and obesity risk factors among urban, low SES Black (also commonly referred to in the literature as "non-Hispanic Black" or African American) and Hispanic children is limited. Given the high risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease among these populations throughout the life course, research on neighborhood determinants of obesity should specifically include these populations, ensuring adequate power and methodological rigor to detect differences.
