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Field
Abstract
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Before
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican public schools affects one third of the students in primary education. The students are surrounded by a plentiful supply of foods with high contents of energy, fats and sugars. Survey data show that the conventional intervention of providing nutritional information to food consumers fails to reach most of the population. The latest official survey of health conditions, ENSANUT 2016, revealed that 76.3% of adults nationwide do not know or did not respond to the question of how many daily calories are recommended for them, while only 40.6% read the nutritional labels of the foods they eat. To remedy this situation, the Mexican government has designed a school-based intervention (Salud en tu Escuela) with the aim of reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary schools. The intervention is composed of two main components: (1) physical activation by promoting extra-curricular sport practices, (2) a school-based campaign to raise awareness of appropriate food consumption behavior among pupils, parents and teachers. The program pilot is set to be rolled out in the school period of 2017/2018 with a randomized controlled trial across 1,040 schools in 13 participating federal entities (States). The objective of this impact evaluation is to identify the causal effects of the program on knowledge, food habits, and body mass index (BMI) of school children in public primary schools in Mexico. Baseline data have been collected from before the intervention in August 2017 and follow-up observations were collected at the end of the school year in May 2018.
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After
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican public schools affects one third of the students in primary education. The students are surrounded by a plentiful supply of foods with high contents of energy, fats and sugars. Survey data show that the conventional intervention of providing nutritional information to food consumers fails to reach most of the population. The latest official survey of health conditions, ENSANUT 2016, revealed that 76.3% of adults nationwide do not know or did not respond to the question of how many daily calories are recommended for them, while only 40.6% read the nutritional labels of the foods they eat. To remedy this situation, the Mexican government has designed a school-based intervention (Salud en tu Escuela) with the aim of reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary schools. The intervention is composed of three main components:
(1) Baseline measurement of height, weight and BMI of children, with information sent to parents.
(2) Physical activation by promoting extra-curricular sport practices,
(3) A school-based campaign to raise awareness of appropriate food consumption behavior among students, parents and teachers.
The program pilot is set to be rolled out in the school period of 2017/2018 with a randomized controlled trial in 13 participating federal entities. We randomized 1,560 schools to three groups. First, 520 schools to a treatment group (with interventions 1, 2 and 3); second, 520 schools to a control group (with intervention 1 only) and third, 520 schools to a "pure" control group (with no interventions).
The objective of this impact evaluation is to identify the causal effects of the program on knowledge, food habits, and body mass index (BMI) of school children in public primary schools in Mexico. Baseline data have been collected from before the intervention in August 2017 and follow-up observations were collected at the end of the school year in May 2018.
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Field
Last Published
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Before
April 16, 2018 11:09 PM
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After
May 10, 2019 04:35 PM
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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
The intervention is composed of six different components described as follows:
* Intervention 1: Installation and maintenance of water fountains
- The objective is to provide an adequate infrastructure that facilitates an increase in the consumption of water among children in treated schools.
- A public agency will set up and maintain water fountains in selected schools. The food authority, the sanitary authority in Mexico, will visit the schools to examine the quality of the water provided by the fountains.
* Intervention 2: Enforcement of the food and drink administration guidelines
- The objective is to enforce the guidelines in terms of food and drink administration in schools, specifically in school cafeterias and vendors.
- A public agency in coordination with the food authority will supervise the menus and advise the food providers in the preparation and administration of health food and drinks.
* Intervention 3: Measurement and diagnose
- The objective is to identify the cases of overweight, obesity and visual sharpness in school children from the first, fifth and sixth grades.
- A crew of health practitioners and students will carry out anthropometric measurements and visual tests to those pupils whose parents have given informed consent. An educational session on oral hygiene will take place and a questionnaire on healthy behavior will be administered.
* Intervention 4: Physical activation
- The objective is to promote physical activity, moderate and vigorous, during physical education classes.
- Physical education teachers will teach classes using a technique that involves six physical activation stations painted on the school’s patio . Similarly, physical activity will be promoted during the daily recess or break.
* Intervention 5: Behavioral change strategy
- The objective is to promote healthy habits among pupils through the training of teachers and principals.
- Ludic materials will be provided to teach healthy eating habits focused on three areas: water consumption, bringing healthy snacks from home and the selection of healthy food and drinks.
* Intervention 6: Teacher and parental training
- The objective is to provide information to parents (or guardians) and teachers to reinforce the incorporation of the behavioral change strategy and health components into the curriculum.
- Face to face and online strategies will be designed to inform parents and teachers about promoting the healthy habits proposed by the behavioral change strategy.
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After
The intervention is composed of six different components described as follows:
* Component 1: Children's anthropometric measurements and visual tests, and information sent to parents
- The objective is to identify the cases of overweight, obesity and visual sharpness in school children from the first, fifth and sixth grades.
- A crew of health practitioners and students will carry out anthropometric measurements and visual tests to those pupils whose parents have given informed consent. An educational session on oral hygiene will take place and a questionnaire on healthy behavior will be administered.
* Component 2: Installation and maintenance of water fountains
- The objective is to provide an adequate infrastructure that facilitates an increase in the consumption of water among children in treated schools.
- A public agency will set up and maintain water fountains in selected schools. The food authority, the sanitary authority in Mexico, will visit the schools to examine the quality of the water provided by the fountains.
* Component 3: Enforcement of the food and drink administration guidelines
- The objective is to enforce the guidelines in terms of food and drink administration in schools, specifically in school cafeterias and vendors.
- A public agency in coordination with the food authority will supervise the menus and advise the food providers in the preparation and administration of health food and drinks.
* Component 4: Physical activation
- The objective is to promote physical activity, moderate and vigorous, during physical education classes.
- Physical education teachers will teach classes using a technique that involves six physical activation stations painted on the school’s patio . Similarly, physical activity will be promoted during the daily recess or break.
* Component 5: Behavioral change strategy
- The objective is to promote healthy habits among pupils through the training of teachers and principals.
- Ludic materials will be provided to teach healthy eating habits focused on three areas: water consumption, bringing healthy snacks from home and the selection of healthy food and drinks.
* Component 6: Teacher and parental training
- The objective is to provide information to parents (or guardians) and teachers to reinforce the incorporation of the behavioral change strategy and health components into the curriculum.
- Face to face and online strategies will be designed to inform parents and teachers about promoting the healthy habits proposed by the behavioral change strategy.
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