Overview of overweight and obesity in Latin American schools

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in coordination with the world’s governments, have developed different strategies to combat overweight and obesity in the school population. One of the strategies consists of the World School Health Survey, which has been applied in different countries as a way to determine, in real time, the health situation of school children between 13 and 15 years of age, and from its results to generate proposals that help prevent its appearance, and favour the promotion of healthy habits and lifestyles. In Latin America, the survey has been applied in 15 countries and, in the case of this review, the sections on nutritional status and physical activity were considered, taking into account that our region has notably increased the indicators of excess weight (33,54% n=123,361) and sedentary lifestyles (41,2% n=123,361). Notwithstanding the relevance of the surveys, it is necessary to implement policies and guidelines that impact the educational system through mechanisms that guarantee the school population an understanding of the implications of good nutrition, accompanied by regular physical activity, on well-being and quality of life.