Double- and triple-duty actions in childhood for addressing the global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change: A scoping review.

Obesity, undernutrition, and climate change constitute a global syndemic that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including children. Double- and triple-duty actions that simultaneously address these pandemics are needed to prevent further health, economic, and environmental consequences. Evidence describing the implementation and evaluation of such actions is lacking. This review summarized the literature on whole-of-population actions targeting children that were designed or adapted to be double or triple duty. Six academic databases were searched (January 2015-March 2021) using terms related to 'children', 'intervention', 'nutrition', 'physical activity', and 'climate change'. Data were extracted from 43/15,475 studies, including six randomized controlled trials. Most (58%) described triple-duty actions targeting food systems in schools such as implementing guidelines for healthier and environmentally sustainable school meals programs, and 51% reported engaging community in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation of actions. Changes in dietary intake, diet composition, greenhouse gas emissions, and food waste were the most frequently reported outcomes and 21 studies (three randomized controlled trials) showed positive double- or triple-duty effects. This review is the first to demonstrate that double- and triple-duty actions for addressing the global syndemic in childhood have been implemented and can have a positive impact on obesity, undernutrition, and climate change.

O papel da agricultura urbana e periurbana na segurança alimentar global do pós-guerra à crise da covid-19: novas perspectivas em justiça alimentar, saúde global e sustentabilidade, / The role of urban and peri-urban agriculture in global food security from post-war to the COVID-19 crisis: new perspectives on food justice, global health, and sustainability,

Resumo A atual sindemia global, amplificada pela pandemia de covid-19, evidencia o colapso dos sistemas alimentares atuais. As iniciativas de agricultura urbana e periurbana (AUP) têm sido reconhecidas como estratégias de oposição ao modelo de sistema alimentar dominante, a partir de seus múltiplos impactos positivos. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo é discutir a evolução do conceito de segurança alimentar e nutricional (SAN) no âmbito internacional, desde sua proposição (no pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial) até a crise da covid-19, compreendendo quais as contribuições a AUP ocupa nesta agenda. Para isso, o documento estrutura-se a partir de uma revisão crítica de literatura. O campo da SAN evoluiu e foram incluídas diferentes dimensões à sua caracterização, contudo, as respostas institucionais concentram-se em momentos de crise, cujos impactos incidem sobre ela e privilegiam a manutenção de sistemas alimentares globalizados e insustentáveis. Já as práticas de AUP aparecem com picos de ascensão e declínio, a medida em que suas contribuições ganham vão ganhando novos contornos, evoluindo junto com a agenda de SAN. Na perspectiva de ampliar e somar às discussões atuais sobre SAN e AUP, discute-se, finalmente, a necessidade de incorporação dos conceitos de justiça, saúde global e de uma visão multidimensional sobre sustentabilidade.

Abstract The current global syndemic, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the collapse of current food systems. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) initiatives have been recognised as strategies of opposition to the dominant food system model based on their multiple positive impacts. Thus, the aim of this article is to discuss the evolution of the concept of food and nutrition security (FNS) at the international level from its proposition (in the post-World War II period) to the COVID-19 crisis, understanding the contributions of UPA in this agenda. To this end, the document is based on a critical literature review. The FNS field has evolved, and different dimensions have been included in its characterisation; however, institutional responses are concentrated in times of crises, whose impacts affect it and favour the maintenance of globalised and unsustainable food systems. The UPA practices, on the other hand, appear with peaks of rise and decline, as their contributions gain new contours, evolving along with the FNS agenda. With a view to broadening and adding to the current discussions on FNSand UPA, we finally discuss the need to incorporate the concepts of justice, global health, and a multidimensional view on sustainability.

A systematic review of system dynamics and agent-based obesity models: Evaluating obesity as part of the global syndemic.

The problem of obesity has recently been reframed as part of the global syndemic-the co-occurring, interacting pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change that are driven by common underlying societal drivers. System science modeling approaches may help clarify how these shared drivers operate and the best ways to address them. The objective of this paper was to determine to what extent existing agent-based and system dynamics computational models of obesity provide insights into the shared drivers of the global syndemic. Peer-reviewed studies published until July 2018 were identified from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. Thirty-eight studies representing 30 computational models were included. They show a growing use of system dynamics and agent-based modeling in the past decade. They most often examined mechanisms and interventions in the areas of social network-based influences on obesity, physiology and disease state mechanics, and the role of food and physical activity environments. Usefulness for identifying common drivers of the global syndemic was mixed; most models represented Western settings and focused on obesity determinants close to the person (eg, social circles, school settings, and neighborhood environments), with a relative paucity in models at mesolevel and macrolevel and in developing country contexts.