The Ministry of Health and Consumption of the Junta de Andalucía promotes awareness and reflection on healthy living within the framework of World Obesity Day 2013, which is celebrated every year on March 4, sponsored by the World Obesity Federation. Under the slogan “Changing perspective: the report of obesity”, in 2023 this event aims to increase the awareness of obesity as a disease, as a global problem, changing the way in which it is directed by society; work to improve the local, regional and national environment by creating a healthy environment that promotes health and helps prevent it; to encourage the creation of platforms to tackle some great pain experiences.
According to the World Obesity Federation, nearly one billion people were living with obesity in 2020, that is, 1 in 7 people. In 2035, 1.9 billion people worldwide will be living with severe pain, that is, almost 1 in 4 people. Almost 400 million children worldwide will live in obesity by 2035, representing 1 in 5 children. Childhood obesity will increase by more than 100% between 2020 and 2035. Among boys, the prevalence will increase from 10% to 20% and among girls, the prevalence will increase from 8% to 18%.
In Andalucía, the Childhood Obesity Program including the Baetica (PIOBIN) is being renewed, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, through the General Directorate of Public Health and Pharmaceutical Regulation. The objective of this review process, which began in October 2022 and is expected to end by 2023, is to prepare a strategic five-year plan that involves all social actors, institutions and citizens, to solve the problem. pain in children and adolescents, which affects the improvement of health and quality of life.
The works, in which more than 40 experts participate, have been enhanced with the methodological support of the IAVANTE Line, Progress and the Health Foundation. To this end, a Coordinating Committee has been set up for the management of Childhood Obesity Comprehensive Plan Baetica, the Local Health Promotion and Action Ministry and the Andalusian Ministry of Health.
The three strategic lines of the new plan are Communication and Information for the Andalusian population; Health Promotion and Prevention First; and Health Care and Information Systems. Participating experts are health promotion and technical communication, professionals from Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Nursing, Social Work, representatives of the Confederation of Parents Associations and Unicef, social workers, psychology and sports science professionals, among others.
In addition, PIOBIN carries out other activities at the same time to promote policies aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and preventing excess weight in youth. Thus, in December 2022 and January 2023, two telematic meetings were held between the PIOBIN coordinating group and the PIOBIN correspondents of each Area or District Health Management, in charge of coordinating the different activities of the Plan at the territorial level. The objective of these meetings is to analyze the situation and explain the various problems or barriers that the implementation of the plan presents in each region, with the aim of determining what measures could improve said implementation.
In February 2023, the process of reviewing and updating the care protocol began: the screening and management of excess weight in childhood, with the aim of responding to the requirements for activities related to the screening and management of excess weight, as well as to collect activities. to amend the records of said actions.
As a tool of the Plan, the PEPO Network (https://www.lareddelasandia.org/) is made up of professional experts in childhood obesity. The network aims to provide a public area for families and the general public with different materials, such as infographics, videos, guides and explanatory brochures to provide recommendations for families based on scientific evidence. He said that the Network is in the process of reviewing both its content and its image from December 2022, in order to give both professionals and families the most up-to-date information and tools, and to offer easier access to content and navigation through this platform.
All these actions are in line with the proposal of the National Strategic Plan for the Reduction of Childhood Obesity (2022-2030): Spain in a good plan, approved in December 2022, by the High Commissioner against Childhood Poverty, together with the cooperation. public administrations, scientific institutions, third sector organizations, associations and business sector federations. It is a document that proposes two hundred measures, 50 of them priorities, for macrosocial, family, education, health, leisure and sports, in urban and digital environments and in audio-visual environments. The goal is to reduce child and adolescent overweight and obesity by 25%.
The state of great pain in childhood in Andalusia
To analyze the current situation of overweight in the Andalusian child population, the latest data available is prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the 2016 Andalusian Health Survey, in the population between 2 and 15 years of age there is a prevalence of overweight of 19.7% (21.2% of boys and 18.1% of girls) and a prevalence of obesity of 11.3% (12 2% of boys and 10.3% of girls). Both overweight and obesity are higher in boys than in girls. For every 10 children, there are 3 overweight (overweight plus fat), 2 overweight and 1 obese.
The latest data available from ALADINO Andalucía 2019 Study carried out in schools from 6 to 9 years, show that the epidemic of excess weight in children and adolescents has stabilized in the last decade, although it is still higher than in Spain. as a whole From this study it stands out that 90.6% of parents in schools are overweight, their children have a normal weight, obese children in schools, 43.3% of parents whose children’s weight can be considered normal.
Promotion of healthy habits in the whole population
Together with PIOBIN, the Andalusian administration is developing a new Strategy to promote a healthy lifestyle in Andalusia, with the expectation of presenting it in the first half of this year. Through various programs and actions in various environments and regions, many of which are already in development, the aim is to promote healthy lifestyles throughout life, with the aim of increasing the health and well-being of the people of Andalusia.
Within this Strategy, the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs launched the website www.miguiadesalud.es in September 2020, a health promotion portal that has already received more than 790,000 visits and offers recommendations not only on healthy eating and physical activity; but also about sleep, about emotional well-being, about responsible sexuality, and also about the positive use of technology, about a smoke-free and alcohol-free life, about habits that help us all take care of ourselves and generate health.
