Using evidence-informed policies to tackle overweight and obesity in Chile

Overweight and obesity are a global epidemic with rates having risen to alarming levels in both developed and developing countries. Chile has been no exemption, with sharp increases in obesity prevalence, especially among school-age children. This paper describes the policy actions and strategies implemented to tackle this major public health concern in Chile over the last 10 years, and highlights the main challenges and nuances of the process. Chile has taken policy action that includes front-of-package labelling, advertising regulations, and school-food restrictions. New policies focus on the social determinants of health as they relate to food environments and people's behavior. These actions are not only suitable to the current context in Chile, but are also supported by the best available scientific evidence. Moreover, the implementation of these policies has produced a broad debate involving public institutions and the food industry, with discussions issues ranging from property rights to trade barriers. Despite some differences among stakeholders, a valuable political consensus has been achieved, and several international organizations are eager to evaluate the impact of these pioneer initiatives in Latin America.

Validación de la escala de Borg en personas con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 / Validation of the Borg scale in participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE) is a psychophysiological measurements that translates physical stimuli to a psychological construct, which is perceived exertion. Its use is simple and it represents the effort perception. Each number of the scale is associated with a heart rate or percentage of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), which estimates the intensity of exercise. Aim: To validate RPE scale in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Material and Methods: Thirty five DM2 participants with a median age of 59 years underwent an incremental exercise test in a treadmill with breath-by-breath analysis of oxygen consumption. After every three minute stage, the RPE scale was applied and correlated with oxygen consumption variables. Results: There was correlation coefficient of 0.91 between RPE score and VO2max. A RPE score of 11 corresponded to 52% of VO2max, a RPE score of 13 corresponded to 76% of VO2max, a RPE of 15 corresponded to 88% of VO2max and a RPE of 17 correspondent to a 100% of VO2max. Conclusions: RPE Scale is valid in patients with type 2 diabetes as an estimate of the intensity of physical activity.