Proceedings of the Second Pan American Conference on Obesity with special attention to childhood obesity and a workshop, ‘Education for childhood obesity prevention: A life-course approach'

Abstract

The first Pan American Conference on Obesity (PACO I) was held in Aruba in June 2011 and was attended by a wide variety of professionals including scientists, clinicians, Ministers of Health and other government officials from a number of Caribbean, Latin American and North American countries. The conference focused on childhood obesity and the participants discussed public health policies that addressed the problem of childhood obesity. These included multi-level, comprehensive strategies to address childhood obesity based on three principles: (a) that primordial and primary prevention with a life-course approach should be the central component of national programs to stop the obesity epidemic, (b) that the multi-level focus should be working across all sectors to modify the ‘obesogenic' environment that facilitates a positive energy balance and excess weight gain and (c) that developing self-care skills, meaning actions taken by the individual to protect and promote their health and the health of their children, is imperative. At the same time, it was acknowledged that the ‘obesogenic' environment shows wide variability across countries, and therefore any concerted regional action plan must allow for flexibility and adaptation to each local situation. Finally, education was identified as a critical component for the promotion of health and the prevention of childhood obesity.

In follow-up of the initial PACO meeting, the second Pan American Conference on Obesity (PACO II), with special attention to Childhood Obesity, was held in Aruba from 15 to 16 June 2012, with the following objectives:

1. Develop a specific platform for the prevention of obesity, specifically childhood obesity, locally, nationally and internationally to facilitate the implementation of actions and operational research that addresses the epidemic of obesity.

2. Strengthen the focus on non-communicable diseases, including obesity, locally, nationally and across the institutions of the United Nations and the Inter American System.

The conference was preceded by two international courses and seven thematic workshops that are as follows:

International courses:

• Exercise is Medicine.

• CDC: International Course on Physical Activity and Health.

Workshops:

• Promoting Physical Activity to Prevent Childhood Obesity.

• School Environment and the Prevention of Childhood Obesity.

• Economic Cost of Obesity.

• Food-Based Dietary Guidelines in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity.

• PAHO/PAHEF Workshop on Education for Childhood Obesity Prevention: A Life-Course Approach.

• The Role of E-Health in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity.

• Creating Healthy Environments and Healthy People.

The PACO II conference reached a series of conclusions and recommendations that are given in detail on the PACO II website at: http://www.paco.aw/paco2documents.php. Although these statements are aimed primarily at the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America represented at PACO II, they are relevant for all countries who are concerned about childhood obesity. Below are an outline of these conclusions and recommendations:

Conclusions and recommendations from PACO II

1. Fund, design and implement a study in Latin American and Caribbean countries to estimate the economic costs of obesity in children and adults in different age and sex groups. This will be essential for engaging non-health sectors in the discussions and reaching decision makers who can allocate the resources needed to address the problem.

2. Public policies to tackle social determinants of obesity through the life-course (health promotion, multi settings, multi-sectorial and multi-level interventions).

3. Strengthen education interventions into the life-course approach to prevent childhood obesity.

4. Routinely incorporate obesity and related health issues into foreign policy and trade negotiations.

5. Limit marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages containing high amounts of fat, sugar and salt, and low in essential nutrients.

6. Reframe the leadership role of women regarding family health to include fathers as an active participant in the implementation of healthy home environments.

7. Tailor the content, regulatory and operational frameworks of food-based dietary guidelines.

8. Develop and pilot test initiatives to identify and utilize local food sources and promote adult and youth consumers' appreciation for the natural origins of available foods.

9. Develop training and initiatives to utilize food safety and healthy foods in the prevention of childhood obesity.

10. Develop complementary and integrative actions to increase physical activity across whole communities.

11. Enhance the use of eHealth to support obesity prevention.

As education in the broadest sense has been identified in both PACO I and in PACO II as critical in the fight against childhood obesity, one of the PACO II workshops that focused on education was chosen to be published as a supplement in the International Journal of Obesity (IJO). This IJO supplement issue contains manuscripts by speakers at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF) Workshop on Education for Childhood Obesity Prevention: a life-course approach. The workshop was organized and chaired by Drs Rafael Pérez-Escamilla and Gilberto Kac from PAHEF and Drs James Hospedales and Alfonso Contreras from PAHO who have summarized the proceedings and presented the conclusions and recommendations at the end of this supplement. The workshop and this supplement issue in IJO supplements were supported by the Pan American Health Organization and the Pan American Health and Education Foundation.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.