NEW STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION OF OBESITY AND A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE IN CHLDREN
NEW STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION OF OBESITY AND A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE IN CHLDREN
In the XVI World Congress of Cardiology, different experiences related to the education and promotion of cardio-healthy habits will be discussed.
World Congress of Cardiology, Buenos Aires, 18th May 2008 - Recent studies have shown that overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence have a negative impact on the functioning of the internal walls of the arteries (vascular endothelium), paving the way to the development of an arteriosclerotic disease from an increasingly early age. Recent studies, the findings of which will be discussed in the XVI World Congress of Cardiology, prove that, regardless of age, race and sex, child and adolescent obesity affects the vascular endothelial functions. “The evidence that the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases which reveal themselves in adulthood begin in childhood or adolescence makes it imperative that prevention strategies be planned from a very early age,” said Dr. Héctor Trungelliti, president of the Pediatric Cardiology Committee of the Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC). “These risk factors, such as overweight and obesity, as well as a sedentary lifestyle, nicotinism, dyslipidemias, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, share a common element that cannot be denied: the adoption of poor health-related habits characteristic of western societies.”
The prevention of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors is the central topic of the XVI World Congress of Cardiology which is taking place in the city of Buenos Aires from May 18 to May 21, with the participation of nearly 15,000 professionals from over 100 countries. This is why child obesity and overweight prevention and the dissemination of cardio-healthy habits are some of the core topics of the most important event in world cardiology.
Within the frame of the congress, the preliminary results of the EDUCANDO (Educating) Plan will be released. This project is developed by Argentine Federation/Foundation of Cardiology and is aimed at the prevention of cardiovascular diseases since childhood. “The EDUCANDO plan is aimed at primary school teachers, and its clear and didactic message can be easily communicated to children. Its aim is to encourage a change towards healthier lifestyles, by providing information about cardiovascular disease and their prevention,” explains Dr. Rodolfo La Greca, co-director of the EDUCANDO plan.
This programme was launched in 2001, and the number of primary school teachers that have received training since then totals approximately 8,000. These teachers are in charge of about 100,000 children from between 4 and 5 years of age. “The cardiovascular prevention message is carried by these teachers to the heart of the family. Since the higher the number of families informed by and participating in the programme, the greater the change achieved in the community and its habits, this will enable a true epidemiologic change,” affirms Dr. La Greca.
“The strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in children and adolescents necessarily entail the empowerment of the family and the community through education for health,” states Dr. Trungelliti. “The lack of parents’ commitment or involvement prevents the implementation of any measures intended to instill healthy eating and physical activity habits in children and adolescents.”
“We will try to convey the Argentine experience because, due to its characteristics the EDUCANDO plan is unique as regards the centralized and unified management of the plan, addressed to teachers and not directly to children, who sometimes do not receive the message properly,” comments Dr. La Greca. “On the other hand, teachers are the proper vector to convey concepts related to life quality to children.”
HEALTHY HABITS FOR LIFE
Another interesting experience of promotion of healthy life habits in childhood and adolescence that will be presented in the XVI World Congress of Cardiology will be the project developed by the World Heart Federation in Colombia. There, “Healthy Habits For Life” presented through the television show Plaza Sesamo (Sesame Workshop), consists of the development of audiovisual materials that encourage pre-school children (aged between 3 and 6) to take regular physical activity and to eat a healthy and balanced diet and to promote the importance of instilling healthy life habits in children amongst the children’s caregivers.
“The aim of the project is to enhance children’s knowledge (as well as the knowledge of caregivers) and to change their attitudes towards physical activity and a healthy diet, to encourage multi-sector collaboration to the prevention of cardiovascular disease; to identify those elements of the programme that are cost- effective in order to reproduce them; and to develop an association with Plaza Sésamo that can be spread to other countries,” explains Dr. Shahyar Sheik, President of the World Heart Federation.
The Project started in 2006, with the development, in Colombia, of audiovisual content that focuses on healthy life habits, designed to be used by health and education professionals and to enable the later evaluation of their impact on both children’s and parents’ activities. Six out of the 27 audiovisual materials initially planned have already been broadcast in 2007 within the frame of the Plaza Sésamo show, broadcast virtually all over the American Continent through the cable television channels Discovery Kids, TeleFutura and Televisa, among others. The new episodes will be broadcast over 2008.
In addition to the support of the World Heart Federation and of Sesame Workshop, the project has the support of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in U.S.A., the Colombian societies of pediatrics and of cardiology, Colsubsidio and the Children Cardiology Foundation. “At present, focus is being placed on working with Mount Sinai School of Medicine to establish the best way to evaluate the short-and long term impact of this intervention,” said Dr. Sheik.
“The World Congress of Cardiology offers a rich and diverse opportunity to share new and exciting advances in the field of prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors.”
Ends
The World Heart Federation Press Team:
Victoria Dix / Pablo Retamal
Telephone: +41 22 908 4071 / +41 79 707 7592
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Email: victoria.dix(at)cohnwolfe.com
www.cwnewsroom.ch
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About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation is a nongovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to the prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It comprises 196 member societies of cardiology and heart foundations from over 100 countries covering the regions of Asia-Pacific, Europe, East Mediterranean, the Americas and Africa.
www.worldheart.org and www.worldcardiocongress.org
The Argentine Society of Cardiology
The Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC) was founded in 1937 and it is one of the world's oldest cardiological societies. Its members include many prestigious historical figures internationally recognized for their contributions to science including one Nobel Prize winner. SAC has more than 6,500 members in various categories including doctors, nurses and technicians. It has 36 Regional Districts spread over the entire national territory and 20 scientific councils representing all the subspecialties of cardiology. It conducts continuous and intensive teaching with courses in all subspecialties, grants the certification of “Universitary Cardiologist” and conducts a programme of recertification training.
Other important areas of its role include research, with epidemiological surveys, clinical research studies and the “Consensus” which sets standards for diagnosis and treatment of major cardiovascular diseases. The society acts as advisor to both legislative chambers of the national parliament and it has established a community focused institution, the Argentine Foundation of Cardiology, to educate and prevent cardiovascular disease as well as running and dictating courses on cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
www.sac.org.ar
The Argentine Federation of Cardiology
The Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC) is a scientific organization which comprises 37 Federated Societies and 11 Delegations distributed all over the Argentine territory. It was founded in 1965 by a group of prestigious cardiologists from the provinces. Its foundational purpose is to promote cardiology-related education and scientific production among its over 5,500 members.
To this purpose, the FAC issues a specialization certificate acknowledged by several provincial governments and has entered into agreements with numerous Argentine universities. For the past 40 years, the federation has published the Argentine Cardiology Federation Journal, now available both in paper and electronic version. Its 22 scientific committees develop a significant academic activity, and the recent creation of the Area of Institutional Scientific Consensus encourages such activities even further, coordinating the preparation of guidelines and recommendations. In this sense, the area of consensus promotes the interrelation with similar scientific societies, with the aim to ensure the wide dissemination and support of said guidelines and recommendations.
In addition, the FAC acts as permanent consultation body for numerous university and governmental organisms both at federal and provincial level.
www.fac.org.ar