Developing a nutrition education program for obesity prevention among Mexican children: a pilot study (808.21)

Abstract

Interventions for preventing obesity require elements of environmental and behavioral change, these are more successful with conceptual models, local context and community‐based. Objective: Develop and test a thematic guide in a focus group to design a nutrition education program based on a public health approach that involves parents, teachers and the school environment. Methodology: Following the Socio‐ecological theory and the precede‐proceed model, we developed and tested a focus group guide to analyze participants perceptions, beliefs and barriers related to behavioral and environmental changes on diet and physical activity in school‐age children. The pilot study included 4 focus groups discussion with 20 school‐age mothers from two public elementary schools in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; each focus group session lasted about 60 min and included on average 5 participants. We used the QSR NVivo program for content analysis. Results: Some universal mediators of diet and physical activity behaviors that agree with those universally reported are: food energy density and physical inactivity. Also, context‐based mediators identified were: school meal quality, parents and teachers nutrition knowledge and beliefs, and public security. Conclusion: There are universal and context‐related mediators of obesity that should be acknowledged in an obesity prevention program for school‐age children.