Saudi Arabia's Healthy Food Strategy: Progress & Hurdles in the 2030 Road.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a leading country worldwide in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which alone can explain 73% of mortality in the country. In response to the heavy burden of NCDs, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), in collaboration with other government entities, developed a healthy food strategy (HFS) aimed at enhancing healthy lifestyles and reducing the intake of salt, sugar, saturated fatty acids (SSF) and trans fatty acids (TFA). The objectives of the HFS, to facilitate consumers' identification of SSF and reduce the SSF and TFA content in food items, were addressed in collaboration with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors of the food industry. These reforms included voluntary and mandatory schemes to display nutrition information in food and beverage establishments, display allergens on food menus, encourage the adoption of front of pack nutrient labels (FoPNLs) on food products, ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils and establish limits for sodium composition in breads and selected food products. This manuscript contextualizes the HFS and presents the results of monitoring initiatives undertaken by the SFDA to assess compliance with these reforms.

An Urban Population Health Observatory System to Support COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness, Response, and Management: Design and Development Study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is impacting people worldwide and is currently a leading cause of death in many countries. Underlying factors, including Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), could contribute to these statistics. Our prior work has explored associations between SDoH and several adverse health outcomes (eg, asthma and obesity). Our findings reinforce the emerging consensus that SDoH factors should be considered when implementing intelligent public health surveillance solutions to inform public health policies and interventions. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to redefine the Healthy People 2030's SDoH taxonomy to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we aim to provide a blueprint and implement a prototype for the Urban Population Health Observatory (UPHO), a web-based platform that integrates classified group-level SDoH indicators to individual- and aggregate-level population health data. METHODS: The process of building the UPHO involves collecting and integrating data from several sources, classifying the collected data into drivers and outcomes, incorporating data science techniques for calculating measurable indicators from the raw variables, and studying the extent to which interventions are identified or developed to mitigate drivers that lead to the undesired outcomes. RESULTS: We generated and classified the indicators of social determinants of health, which are linked to COVID-19. To display the functionalities of the UPHO platform, we presented a prototype design to demonstrate its features. We provided a use case scenario for 4 different users. CONCLUSIONS: UPHO serves as an apparatus for implementing effective interventions and can be adopted as a global platform for chronic and infectious diseases. The UPHO surveillance platform provides a novel approach and novel insights into immediate and long-term health policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and other future public health crises. The UPHO assists public health organizations and policymakers in their efforts in reducing health disparities, achieving health equity, and improving urban population health.

[Effects and costs of The Healthy Primary School of the Future]. / De effecten en kosten van de Gezonde Basisschool van de Toekomst.

OBJECTIVE: To study school lifestyle interventions for elementary school children (The Healthy Primary School of the Future). RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the effects of the introduction of increased physical activity with or without healthy nutrition on health behaviour and BMI of young children and what are the costs of this program? DESIGN: Prospective controlled non-randomized study with nearly 1700 children in Parkstad (South-East Netherlands). RESULTS: Preliminary results after two years show that the combination of increased physical activity and healthy nutrition result in a decreased BMIz-score (-0.036), increased physical activity alone in hardly any change (-0.10) while in the control group the BMIz-score increased (0.052). The net societal costs of the combination of physical activity and health nutrition costs were 1 euro per child per day. CONCLUSION: The study contributes to the increasing amount of evidence proving that lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing the obesity epidemic. Future studies will show whether a weight reduction in children will result in the prevention of chronic disease later on in life and what the cost reduction related to this result will be.

Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020).

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation's youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China's more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieve Healthy China 2030 goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6-17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

Healthy Jeart: promoción de la salud en la adolescencia a través de dispositivos móviles / Healthy Jeart: promotion of health in adolescence through mobile devices

Para que las campañas de promoción de la salud sean más efectivas se necesita la motivación de las personas a quienes van dirigidas, la cual puede incrementarse mediante la gamificación a través de dispositivos móviles. No se conocen experiencias en español que aborden la promoción de la salud desde una perspectiva lúdica generalista. Por ello se crea Healthy Jeart, una aplicación para teléfonos inteligentes y tabletas, destinada preferentemente a una población de entre 8 y 16 años, que tiene como objetivo la promoción de hábitos saludables a nivel físico, social y psicológico. Su contenido ha sido diseñado por profesores de las universidades de Huelva y Sevilla. Las áreas temáticas que la conforman son: ejercicio físico, alimentación, bienestar físico, bienestar psicológico, relaciones afectivo-sexuales, uso de nuevas tecnologías y tóxicos-adicciones. En 2018 consiguió la certificación de aplicación saludable, otorgada por la Agencia de Calidad Sanitaria de Andalucía (ACSA)

To make health promotion campaigns more effective, the motivation of the people to whom they are directed is required, what can be achieved by gamification through electronic devices. There are no known experiences in Spanish that address the promotion of health from a generalist perspective and not only focused on very specific issues. For this reason Healthy Jeart is created. It is an app for smartphones and tablets, aimed at a population between 8 and 16 years old, whose objective is the promotion of healthy habits on a physical, social and psychological level. Its content has been designed by professors from the universities of Huelva and Seville (Spain). The thematic areas that comprise it are: physical exercise, nutrition, physical well-being, psychological well-being, affective-sexual relationships, use of new technologies and toxic substances and addictions. In 2018 it achieved a certification granted by the Agency of Sanitary Quality of Andalusia as a healthy app

Development of a Tobacco Control Prescription in a Southern US City.

THE PROBLEM: Nationwide efforts to reduce smoking in the United States have been successful. Yet, there is unequal geographic progress in reducing rates of smoking and smoking-related illnesses. Located in a tobacco-producing state with weak tobacco laws, Nashville, Tennessee, has an adult smoking rate of 22.0%, requiring 45,000 smokers to quit to meet the Healthy People 2020 goal of 12%. PURPOSE: The purpose of this article was to detail the development a community-academic partnership (CAP) and its process for devising a local implementation strategy for tobacco control. KEY POINTS: Nashville's CAP developed with a community-based organization (CBOs) seeking out an academic partner. This unique approach addressed many of the challenges CAPs face, helped identify priorities and potential barriers to success and led to early wins. CONCLUSION: The success of Nashville's efforts suggests that CAPs should clearly delineate roles for members of the CAP, engage diverse stakeholders, be responsive to the community, and allow adequate time for planning and prioritizing.

Workplace Interventions to Promote Sleep Health and an Alert, Healthy Workforce.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this review is to synthesize the published literature that addresses employer-initiated interventions to improve the sleep of workers and in turn improve health, productivity, absenteeism, and other outcomes that have been associated with sleep disorders or sleep deficiency. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search and a selective narrative review of publications in PubMed from 1966 to December 2017. We extracted study characteristics, including the workers' professions, workplace settings and shift work, and workplace interventions focused on worker sleep. Because of the high degree of heterogeneity in design and outcomes, we conducted a narrative review. RESULTS: We identified 219 publications. After restriction to publications with studies of workplace interventions that evaluated the outcomes of sleep duration or quality, we focused on 47 articles. An additional 13 articles were accepted in the pearling process. Most studies employed non-randomized or controlled pretest and posttest designs and self-reported measures of sleep. The most common workplace interventions were educational programs stressing sleep hygiene or fatigue management. Other interventions included timed napping before or after work, urging increased daytime activity levels, modifying workplace environmental characteristics such as lighting, and screening, and referral for sleep disorders treatment. Overall, most reports indicated that employer efforts to encourage improved sleep hygiene and healthier habits result in improvements in sleep duration, sleep quality, and self-reported sleepiness complaints. CONCLUSIONS: These studies suggest employer-sponsored efforts can improve sleep and sleep-related outcomes. The existing evidence, although weak, suggests efforts by employers to encourage better sleep habits and general fitness result in self-reported improvements in sleep-related outcomes, and may be associated with reduced absenteeism and better overall quality of life. Candidate workplace strategies to promote sleep health are provided.

Healthy People for the 21st Century: Understanding Use of Healthy People 2020 as a Web-Based Initiative.

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses how the nation's preeminent health promotion and disease prevention initiative, Healthy People, is utilized by key stakeholders. METHODS: A Web-based survey was administered to assess awareness and use of Healthy People among state, local, tribal health organizations and other key stakeholder groups. Follow-up interviews were conducted with a subset of respondents. RESULTS: Awareness and use of Healthy People have remained high among state, local, and tribal stakeholders. Healthy People 2020 is most frequently used as a data source. The Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) are an important element of the initiative, and nearly 90% of organizations that use the LHIs found them valuable. Awareness and use of other tools and resources are more limited. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy People continues to be a valued resource among public health stakeholders; however, continued outreach is needed to promote the use of tools and resources available on healthypeople.gov for this decade and beyond. Healthy People is a national initiative used most frequently as a data source by state and local health departments, tribal organizations, and other public health practitioners.

The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without improving maternal and child nutrition.

Poor nutrition is a global pandemic with social, economic, and environmental causes and consequences. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only SDG2 explicitly mentions nutrition. Turning the aspirations of the SDGs into reality will require recognition that good nutrition ensured through sustainable agriculture, is simultaneously an absolutely fundamental input and output. Because all of the other SDGs are directly or indirectly linked to improving nutrition, funding to improve nutrition is essential to success for many SDGs. Greater focus on cooperation across disciplines to advance the science of program delivery and to understand the full contribution of nutrition to many desirable outcomes as part of development are surely the ways forward. Missing today's opportunities to advance thinking and program implementation for more effectively improving nutrition for all, especially for women and children, will lead to a wider failure to meet the SDGs.

Obesity prevention strategies: could food or soda taxes improve health?

Evidence shows that one of the main causes for rising obesity rates is excessive consumption of sugar, which is due in large part to the high sugar content of most soda and juice drinks and junk foods. Worryingly, UK and global populations are consuming increasing amounts of sugary drinks and junk foods (high in salt, sugar and saturated fats). However, there is raised public awareness, and parents in particular want something to be done to curb the alarming rise in childhood obesity. Population-wide policies (i.e. taxation, regulation, legislation, reformulation) consistently achieve greater public health gains than interventions and strategies targeted at individuals. Junk food and soda taxes are supported by increasing evidence from empirical and modelling studies. The strongest evidence base is for a tax on sugar sweetened beverages, but in order to effectively reduce consumption, that taxation needs to be at least 20%. Empirical data from a number of countries which have implemented a duty on sugar or sugary drinks shows rapid, substantial benefits. In the UK, increasing evidence from recent scientific reports consistently support substantial reductions in sugar consumption through comprehensive strategies which include a tax. Furthermore, there is increasing public support for such measures. A sugar sweetened beverages tax will happen in the UK so the question is not 'If?' but 'When?' this tax will be implemented. And, crucially, which nation will get there first? England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales?

Papel de las bebidas fermentadas en el mantenimiento del peso perdido / Role of fermented beverages in the maintenance of weight loss

La obesidad es una enfermedad muy prevalente con múltiples complicaciones crónicas que se reducen o desaparecen tras pérdidas pequeñas (5-10%) pero mantenidas de peso. Sin embargo, mantener la pérdida de peso tras el tratamiento es muy difícil, siendo uno de los mayores retos en el control de esta enfermedad. Aunque las razones que contribuyen a recuperar el peso perdido son de diversa índole, relacionadas con la respuesta biológica a la restricción calórica y con la pérdida de adherencia al tratamiento, hasta un 20% de los pacientes son capaces de mantenerlo. Las claves del éxito están relacionadas con el mantenimiento de los hábitos de vida saludable, el ejercicio físico y una ingesta calórica razonable que permita realizar una vida normal, sin pérdida de vida social. En este sentido, aprender a distinguir las opciones de comida y bebida en una sociedad donde la vida social gira en torno a la mesa en muchas ocasiones es muy importante. Revisamos en este artículo las claves para mantener el peso tras una dieta, así como el papel de las bebidas fermentadas, en especial, la cerveza, en este proceso. En conclusión, mantener el peso perdido es más difícil que perderlo. El consumo leve-moderado de bebidas fermentadas como la cerveza no se asocia con incremento del peso (AU)

Obesity is a very prevalent disease with multiple chronic complications that decrease or disappear after a small (5-10%) but maintained weight loss. Nevertheless, maintaining weight loss after the treatment is very diffi cult and it involves one of the biggest challenges to control this epidemic. Although the reasons that contribute to regain the lost weight are diverse and related to the biological response to caloric restriction and the lack of adherence to treatment, up to 20% of the patients are able to keep it off. The keys to success, involve the maintenance of healthy habits, exercise and a reasonable daily calorie intake to allow a normal way of life, without sacrifi cing the social life. At this point, learning to distinguish food and drink options in a society where social life often revolves around the table is very important. We review the keys to keep the weight off after a diet as well as the role of fermented beverages such as beer, in this process. In conclusion, maintenance the weight loss is harder than losing it. The mild-to-moderate consumption of fermented beverages such as beer is not associated with weight increase (AU)

Hale and Hearty Policies: How Psychological Science Can Create and Maintain Healthy Habits.

Strategies are needed to ensure that the U.S. Government meets its goals for improving the health of the nation (e.g., Healthy People 2020). To date, progress toward these goals has been undermined by a set of discernible challenges: People lack sufficient motivation, they frequently fail to translate healthy intentions into action, their efforts are undermined by the persistence of prior unhealthy habits, and they have considerable difficulty maintaining new healthy patterns of behavior. Guided by advances in psychological science, we provide innovative, evidence-based policies that address each of these challenges and, if implemented, will enhance people's ability to create and maintain healthy behavioral practices.

Contribución de la educación física a las recomendaciones diarias de actividad física en adolescentes según el género; un estudio con acelerometría / Contribution of physical education to daily recommendations of physical activity in adolescents according to gender; A study with accelerometry

Introducción: la institucionalización de la escuela como contexto propicio para el incremento de la actividad física (AF) saludable, la disparidad de resultados en el contexto internacional y la escasez de estudios españoles con medición objetiva en el marco de la Educación Física (EF) hacen necesaria la profundización en esta línea de investigación. Objetivos: los objetivos fueron determinar niveles objetivos de AF durante las clases de EF en adolescentes, comprobar su contribución a la AF diaria recomendable e identificar posibles diferencias según el género. Métodos: una muestra de 337 escolares (211 varones y 183 mujeres), de 13 a 16 años, participaron en esta investigación. La AF se estimó mediante medida objetiva (acelerómetro GT3X), registrándose dos horas completas de clase. Solo aquellos participantes que cumplieron con los criterios mínimos de registro fueron seleccionados para el estudio (n = 231). Resultados: los resultados mostraron que no se cumplen las recomendaciones de tiempo de práctica durante las clases de EF. Se encontraron diferencias significativas según el género en el tiempo de compromiso motor y los pasos/min, así como en los índices de AF moderada-vigorosa y en el tiempo de sedentarismo de los escolares estudiados (p<0,05). Conclusiones: la EF tiene una escasa contribución a las recomendaciones de AF moderada-vigorosa (casi un tercio en chicos y un cuarto en chicas) y de pasos diarios (quinta parte en chicos/as), limitada además por su duración y frecuencia semanal. Incrementarla en el sistema educativo actual ayudaría a la consecución de estos estándares (AU)

Introduction: the institutionalization of school as a feasible context for the increment of healthy physical activity (PA), the disparity of results in the international context, and the scarcity of Spanish studies with objective measurements in Physical Education (PE), make further investigations in this research line necessary. Objectives: the objectives were to determine objective levels of PA during PE classes in adolescents, to verify the contribution of PE to daily PA recommendations, and to identify possible differences of PA levels according to gender. Methods: a sample composed of 394 schoolchildren (211 male and 183 female), from 13 to 16 years old, participated in this study. The PA was estimated through an objective measurement (accelerometer GT3X), registering two complete hours of PE classes. Only those participants who accomplished the minimum criteria were selected for the analyses (n = 231). Results: the results showed that the time of practice in PE classes were not accomplished. The gender variable influenced significantly on the motor engagement time and the steps/min, as well as the indices of moderate-vigorous PA and the sedentary time in the studied adolescents (p< 0.05). Conclusions: PE has a scarce contribution to daily moderate-vigorous PA (almost a third in boys and a fourth in girls) and the daily steps reccomendations (fifth part in boys/girls), limited by its weekly duration and frequency. Incrementing PE in the current educational system could help to achieve these desirable standards (AU)

Establecimiento de los conocimientos, actitudes y opiniones de la población sobre el uso racional de medicamentos / Establishment of knowledge, attitudes and opinions of general population about rational use of medicines

OBJETIVO: Identificar el nivel de conocimientos, actitudes y opiniones respecto al uso de medicamentos (UM) en población general. MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo transversal, cuantitativo, realizado en usuarios de la sanidad pública ≥ 18 años asignada a centros de atención primaria de la ciudad de Barcelona. Muestreo bietápico, estratificación: barrio, sexo y edad. Administración presencial de un cuestionario propio validado. Análisis: SPSSv15. Período estudio: diciembre 2011. RESULTADOS: Cuatrocientas ochenta y cuatro encuestas (IC 95%, α = 5%).53% mujeres; 21,3% estudios universitarios. UM : 81% ha tomado medicamentos en los últimos 3 meses; media, 1,9. Conceptos técnicos: El 80% de los que se medican saben indicar qué medicamentos toman y para qué. En el 90% de los casos no saben indicar el nombre del principio activo (pa). El 55,6% no sabe definir el concepto pa. Sólo un 35% reconoce algún pa indicado en el envase de tres medicamentos diferentes y un 44,5% no reconoce ninguno. El 22,7% conoce el significado de contraindicación, efecto adverso e interacción medicamentosa. El 20% tiene total desconocimiento y este aumenta con la edad y disminuye con el nivel de estudios. Opinión y actitud: Valor del indicador global de uso racional (IGUR) de medicamentos, 5,03 puntos: 6,18 praxis, 5,02 información, 3,85 uso sostenible y 3,49 nuevos medicamentos/genéricos. El 70% de los encuestados cree que no se hace un uso racional de medicamentos y el 21,3% cree que es necesaria mayor concienciación social. CONCLUSIONES: Los conocimientos, actitudes y opiniones de los ciudadanos sobre medicamentos son bajos. Es necesario implicar a los ciudadanos y mejorar sus conocimientos básicos para avanzar en el uso racional

OBJECTIVE: Identify the level of knowledge, opinions and attitudes of medicines in general population. METHODS: Descriptive transversal study realised in a sample of ≥ 18 years old public health users from primary health centres in the city of Barcelona. Sample has been chosen using a two phases sampling, stratified by district, gender and age. Questionnaire administered face-to-face. SPSSv15 used for the analysis. Study period: December 2011. RESULTS: 484 surveys has been done (IC 95%, α = 5%).53% were women and 21,3% had university studies. Medicine use: 81% had taken medicines in the last 3 months; average of 2,34. Technical concepts: 80% of medicated people know what they take and its indication.55,6% don't know active ingredient concept. Only 35% recognise the active ingredient showed in the box of the medicine (3 cases shown) and 44,5% not one.22,7% know the meaning of security concepts contraindication, adverse effect and drug interaction.20% ignore. This fact grows with age and reduces with high study levels. Opinion and attitude: Global rational use of medicines indicator obtains 5,03 from 10: 3,42 opinion and 6,51 attitude.70% of people think there is no rational use of medicines in general and 21,3% would promote raising awareness. CONCLUSIONS: Low level of knowledge and poor attitude and opinion in rational use of medicines have been shown in this study. It is necessary involve citizens and improve their basic knowledge to promote rational use of medicines