School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention

Martha Givaudan; Marco Barriga; Georgina García; Itzel Valdez; Cory Silver

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

| Peer-Reviewed

School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention

Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Georgina García, Itzel Valdez, Cory Silver

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 9, Issue 5)

Received: 24 August 2020 Accepted: 9 September 2020 Published: 21 September 2020

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a critical and growing public health crisis across the world, with implications ranging from the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, which has been especially revelant in recent months due to the associated risk with COVID-19 recovery, to psychosocial consequences such as low self-esteem. Habits pertaining to diet and exercise may affect a child’s risk of becoming obese, with consumption of processed foods or a lack of physical exercise as risk factors. The objective of this study was to implement a school-based progam in two cities in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the goal of preventing the development of childhood obesity through building life skills, gaining knowledge, and reducing psychosocial barriers to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Teachers were trained in workshops which prepared them to facilitate life skills, reduce psychosocial barriers and disseminate information through interactive activities with their fourth and fifth grade students, as well as engage in conferences with parents to review similar content regarding healthy practices. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the teacher’s role as a health promoter in the classroom, compared with a no treatment group (F_1,74=4,302, p=0.042, η²=0.57), an increase in knowledge about diabetes and health care, as well as increased capability in taking care of their own diet (F_1,74=6.103, p=0.006, η²=0.937). Students’ results in the treatment group showed a significant effect in knowledge about the healthy portion size of various types of food including the importance of daily consumption of vegetables (F_1,1596=4.033, p=0.045), a significant decrease in consumption of junk food and sodas (F_{1, 1593}=7.074, p=0.008), and a significant decrease in drinking soda (F_1,1593=6.618, p=0.010), compared with a no treatment group. Parents increased their knowledge of maintaining healthy eating habits and the importance of exercise as well as their self confidence to promote healthy habits in the family. These results demonstrate the success of the implementation of this comprehensive model based on life skills and intrinsic empowerment in encouraging behaviors as well as emotional and physical habits that reduce risk of childhood obesity, although long-term tracking of indicators such as body mass index (BMI) are needed to determine the efficacy of the program over an extended period of time.

Published in	American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
Page(s)	131-139
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Obesity, Diabetes, School-Based Life Skills Program, Framework for Developing Empowerment (FrEE)

References

[1]	World Health Organization. (2019). Levels and trends in child malnutrition: key findings of the 2019 edition (No. WHO/NMH/NHD/19.20). World Health Organization.
[2]	World Health Organization. (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic (No. 894). World Health Organization.
[3]	Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R. & Bhadoria, A. S. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4 (2), 187.
[4]	Hurt, R. T., Kulisek, C., Buchanan, L. A. & Mc Clave, S. A. (2010). The obesity epidemic: challenges, health initiatives, and implications for gastroenterologists. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 6 (12), 780.
[5]	World Health Organization. (2018). Taking action on childhood obesity (No. WHO/NMH/PND/ECHO/18.1). World Health Organization.
[6]	Nordström, K., Coff, C., Jönsson, H., Nordenfelt, L. & Görman, U. (2013). Food and health: individual, cultural, or scientific matters? Genes & nutrition, 8 (4), 357-363.
[7]	Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE). (2019). The heavy burden of obesity: the economics of prevention. Heath Policy Studies. https://www.oecd.org/about/secretary-general/heavy-burden-of-obesity-mexico-january-2020.htm
[8]	Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). Country comparison: obesity-adult prevalence rate. Retrieved at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2228rank.html. June 03, 2020.
[9]	Aceves-Martins, M., Llauradó, E., Tarro, L., Solà, R. & Giralt, M. (2016). Obesity-promoting factors in Mexican children and adolescents: challenges and opportunities. Global health action, 9 (1), 29625.
[10]	Garduño-Espinosa, J., Morales-Cisneros, G., Martínez-Valverde, S., Contreras-Hernández, I., Flores-Huerta, S., Granados-García, V. & Muñoz-Hernández, O. (2008). A look from health services to the nutrition of Mexican children. III. Economic and health burden of obesity in Mexican children. Long-term projections. Boletín médico del Hospital Infantil de México, 65 (1), 49-56.
[11]	Gómez, A. (2015). 170 thousand die of obesity each year. http://www. eluniversal. com. mx/articulo/periodismo-deinvestigacion/2015/07/14/mueren-por-obesidad-al-ano-170-mil.
[12]	Rtveladze, K., Marsh, T., Barquera, S., Romero, L. M. S., Levy, D., Melendez, G... & Brown, M. (2014). Obesity prevalence in Mexico: impact on health and economic burden. Public health nutrition, 17 (1), 233-239.
[13]	World Health Organization. (2016). Country profiles for diabetes. https://www.who.int/diabetes/countryprofiles/mex_es.pdf?ua=1.
[14]	Andrade Cetto, A. (2019). Mexico ranks 9th in the world in diabetes. Bulletin UNAM-DGCS-305. University City. May 4, 2019. https://www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2019_305.html#:~:text=Es%20un%20problema%20de%20salud,cerca%20de%2012%20 millones%2C%20refiri%C3%B3.
[15]	ENSANUT. (2012). National survey of health and nutrition, results by state. National Institute of Public Health. Health Secretary. Chihuahua. Retrieved on October 19, 2018. https://ensanut.insp.mx/informes/Chihuahua-OCT.pdf.
[16]	Rojas-Martínez R, Basto-Abreu A, Aguilar-Salinas C.A., Zárate-Rojas E, Villalpando S. & Barrientos-Gutiérrez T. (2018). Prevalence of diabetes due to previous medical diagnosis in Mexico. Salud Publica Mex.; 60: 224-232. https://doi.org/10.21149/8566.
[17]	Federación Mexicana de Diabetes (2015). Ministry of Heath spends 15 percent of its budget on diabetes care. Retrieved from http://fmdiabetes.org/presupuesto-atencion-diabetes-gasta-15-presupuesto-salud/. July 27, 2020.
[18]	Hernández Villarreal M.O., Ramos Peña E. & Núñez Rocha G. (2015). Practices and advertising in the consumption of soft drinks in Mexicans. Revista de Salud Pública y Nutrición / Vol. 14, No. 1, January-March.
[19]	Gaona-Pineda E, Martínez-Tapia B, Arango-Angarita A, Valenzuela-Bravo D, Gómez-Acosta LM, Shamah-Levy T. & Rodríguez-Ramírez S. (2018). Consumption of food groups and sociodemographic factors in the Mexican population. Salud Publica Mex, 60: 272-282.
[20]	Alvarado-Osuna C, Milian-Suazo F. & Valles-Sánchez V. (2001), Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemias in indigenous Otomi. Salud Publica Mex, 43, 459-463.
[21]	Secretaría de Salud. (2013). National strategy for the prevention and control of overweight, obesity and diabetes. Retrieved on July 27, 2020. http://www.cenaprece.salud.gob.mx/descargas/pdf/EstrategiaNacionalSobrepeso.pdf.
[22]	World Health Organization. (1999). Partners in Life Skills Education. Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting. Department of Mental Health. Ginebra: WHO. http://www.who.int/mental health/media/in/30.pdf.
[23]	Pick, S. & Sirkin, J. (2010). Breaking the poverty cycle: The human basis for sustainable development. Oxford University Press, USA.
[24]	Pick, S., Venguer, T. & Fishbein, M. (2007). Health education and agency: a comprehensive program for young women in the Mixteca region of Mexico. Psychology, Health & Medicine Journal, 12 (4), 389-406.
[25]	Givaudan, M., Jiménez, D., Barriga, M. & Elizalde, L. (2017). I want to, I can… improve children’s nutrition and prevent diabetes. Teachers´ manual. Idéame: Mexico.
[26]	Givaudan, M., Barriga, M. & Elizalde, L. (2018). I want to, I can… improve children’s nutrition and prevent diabetes. Children workbook. Idéame: Mexico.
[27]	Givaudan, M. & Castellanos, D. (2015). Chucho and Eva learn about diabetes (children’s story). Idéame: Mexico.
[28]	García, C. & Castellanos, D. (2018). I want to, I can… improve children’s nutrition and prevent diabetes (weekly menus for preschool and school-age children). Idéame: Mexico.
[29]	Gonzalez-Suarez, C., Worley, A., Grimmer-Somers, K. & Dones, V. (2009). School-based interventions on childhood obesity: a meta-analysis. American journal of preventive medicine, 37 (5), 418-427.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Georgina García, Itzel Valdez, Cory Silver. (2020). School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 9(5), 131-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Martha Givaudan; Marco Barriga; Georgina García; Itzel Valdez; Cory Silver. School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2020, 9(5), 131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Georgina García, Itzel Valdez, Cory Silver. School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. Am J Appl Psychol. 2020;9(5):131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11,
  author = {Martha Givaudan and Marco Barriga and Georgina García and Itzel Valdez and Cory Silver},
  title = {School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {131-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20200905.11},
  abstract = {Childhood obesity is a critical and growing public health crisis across the world, with implications ranging from the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, which has been especially revelant in recent months due to the associated risk with COVID-19 recovery, to psychosocial consequences such as low self-esteem. Habits pertaining to diet and exercise may affect a child’s risk of becoming obese, with consumption of processed foods or a lack of physical exercise as risk factors. The objective of this study was to implement a school-based progam in two cities in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the goal of preventing the development of childhood obesity through building life skills, gaining knowledge, and reducing psychosocial barriers to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Teachers were trained in workshops which prepared them to facilitate life skills, reduce psychosocial barriers and disseminate information through interactive activities with their fourth and fifth grade students, as well as engage in conferences with parents to review similar content regarding healthy practices. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the teacher’s role as a health promoter in the classroom, compared with a no treatment group (F1,74=4,302, p=0.042, η2=0.57), an increase in knowledge about diabetes and health care, as well as increased capability in taking care of their own diet (F1,74=6.103, p=0.006, η2=0.937). Students’ results in the treatment group showed a significant effect in knowledge about the healthy portion size of various types of food including the importance of daily consumption of vegetables (F1,1596=4.033, p=0.045), a significant decrease in consumption of junk food and sodas (F1, 1593=7.074, p=0.008), and a significant decrease in drinking soda (F1,1593=6.618, p=0.010), compared with a no treatment group. Parents increased their knowledge of maintaining healthy eating habits and the importance of exercise as well as their self confidence to promote healthy habits in the family. These results demonstrate the success of the implementation of this comprehensive model based on life skills and intrinsic empowerment in encouraging behaviors as well as emotional and physical habits that reduce risk of childhood obesity, although long-term tracking of indicators such as body mass index (BMI) are needed to determine the efficacy of the program over an extended period of time.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention
AU  - Martha Givaudan
AU  - Marco Barriga
AU  - Georgina García
AU  - Itzel Valdez
AU  - Cory Silver
Y1  - 2020/09/21
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
SP  - 131
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5672
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
AB  - Childhood obesity is a critical and growing public health crisis across the world, with implications ranging from the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, which has been especially revelant in recent months due to the associated risk with COVID-19 recovery, to psychosocial consequences such as low self-esteem. Habits pertaining to diet and exercise may affect a child’s risk of becoming obese, with consumption of processed foods or a lack of physical exercise as risk factors. The objective of this study was to implement a school-based progam in two cities in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the goal of preventing the development of childhood obesity through building life skills, gaining knowledge, and reducing psychosocial barriers to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Teachers were trained in workshops which prepared them to facilitate life skills, reduce psychosocial barriers and disseminate information through interactive activities with their fourth and fifth grade students, as well as engage in conferences with parents to review similar content regarding healthy practices. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the teacher’s role as a health promoter in the classroom, compared with a no treatment group (F1,74=4,302, p=0.042, η2=0.57), an increase in knowledge about diabetes and health care, as well as increased capability in taking care of their own diet (F1,74=6.103, p=0.006, η2=0.937). Students’ results in the treatment group showed a significant effect in knowledge about the healthy portion size of various types of food including the importance of daily consumption of vegetables (F1,1596=4.033, p=0.045), a significant decrease in consumption of junk food and sodas (F1, 1593=7.074, p=0.008), and a significant decrease in drinking soda (F1,1593=6.618, p=0.010), compared with a no treatment group. Parents increased their knowledge of maintaining healthy eating habits and the importance of exercise as well as their self confidence to promote healthy habits in the family. These results demonstrate the success of the implementation of this comprehensive model based on life skills and intrinsic empowerment in encouraging behaviors as well as emotional and physical habits that reduce risk of childhood obesity, although long-term tracking of indicators such as body mass index (BMI) are needed to determine the efficacy of the program over an extended period of time.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Martha Givaudan

Mexican Institute of Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), Mexico City, Mexico
Marco Barriga

Mexican Institute of Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), Mexico City, Mexico
Georgina García

Mexican Institute of Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), Mexico City, Mexico
Itzel Valdez

Mexican Institute of Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), Mexico City, Mexico
Cory Silver

Mexican Institute of Family and Population Research (IMIFAP), Mexico City, Mexico

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Georgina García, Itzel Valdez, Cory Silver. (2020). School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 9(5), 131-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Martha Givaudan; Marco Barriga; Georgina García; Itzel Valdez; Cory Silver. School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2020, 9(5), 131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Georgina García, Itzel Valdez, Cory Silver. School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. Am J Appl Psychol. 2020;9(5):131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11,
  author = {Martha Givaudan and Marco Barriga and Georgina García and Itzel Valdez and Cory Silver},
  title = {School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {131-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20200905.11},
  abstract = {Childhood obesity is a critical and growing public health crisis across the world, with implications ranging from the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, which has been especially revelant in recent months due to the associated risk with COVID-19 recovery, to psychosocial consequences such as low self-esteem. Habits pertaining to diet and exercise may affect a child’s risk of becoming obese, with consumption of processed foods or a lack of physical exercise as risk factors. The objective of this study was to implement a school-based progam in two cities in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the goal of preventing the development of childhood obesity through building life skills, gaining knowledge, and reducing psychosocial barriers to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Teachers were trained in workshops which prepared them to facilitate life skills, reduce psychosocial barriers and disseminate information through interactive activities with their fourth and fifth grade students, as well as engage in conferences with parents to review similar content regarding healthy practices. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the teacher’s role as a health promoter in the classroom, compared with a no treatment group (F1,74=4,302, p=0.042, η2=0.57), an increase in knowledge about diabetes and health care, as well as increased capability in taking care of their own diet (F1,74=6.103, p=0.006, η2=0.937). Students’ results in the treatment group showed a significant effect in knowledge about the healthy portion size of various types of food including the importance of daily consumption of vegetables (F1,1596=4.033, p=0.045), a significant decrease in consumption of junk food and sodas (F1, 1593=7.074, p=0.008), and a significant decrease in drinking soda (F1,1593=6.618, p=0.010), compared with a no treatment group. Parents increased their knowledge of maintaining healthy eating habits and the importance of exercise as well as their self confidence to promote healthy habits in the family. These results demonstrate the success of the implementation of this comprehensive model based on life skills and intrinsic empowerment in encouraging behaviors as well as emotional and physical habits that reduce risk of childhood obesity, although long-term tracking of indicators such as body mass index (BMI) are needed to determine the efficacy of the program over an extended period of time.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - School-Based Life Skills Program to Reduce Psychosocial Barriers to Achieving Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention
AU  - Martha Givaudan
AU  - Marco Barriga
AU  - Georgina García
AU  - Itzel Valdez
AU  - Cory Silver
Y1  - 2020/09/21
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
SP  - 131
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5672
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200905.11
AB  - Childhood obesity is a critical and growing public health crisis across the world, with implications ranging from the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, which has been especially revelant in recent months due to the associated risk with COVID-19 recovery, to psychosocial consequences such as low self-esteem. Habits pertaining to diet and exercise may affect a child’s risk of becoming obese, with consumption of processed foods or a lack of physical exercise as risk factors. The objective of this study was to implement a school-based progam in two cities in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the goal of preventing the development of childhood obesity through building life skills, gaining knowledge, and reducing psychosocial barriers to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Teachers were trained in workshops which prepared them to facilitate life skills, reduce psychosocial barriers and disseminate information through interactive activities with their fourth and fifth grade students, as well as engage in conferences with parents to review similar content regarding healthy practices. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the teacher’s role as a health promoter in the classroom, compared with a no treatment group (F1,74=4,302, p=0.042, η2=0.57), an increase in knowledge about diabetes and health care, as well as increased capability in taking care of their own diet (F1,74=6.103, p=0.006, η2=0.937). Students’ results in the treatment group showed a significant effect in knowledge about the healthy portion size of various types of food including the importance of daily consumption of vegetables (F1,1596=4.033, p=0.045), a significant decrease in consumption of junk food and sodas (F1, 1593=7.074, p=0.008), and a significant decrease in drinking soda (F1,1593=6.618, p=0.010), compared with a no treatment group. Parents increased their knowledge of maintaining healthy eating habits and the importance of exercise as well as their self confidence to promote healthy habits in the family. These results demonstrate the success of the implementation of this comprehensive model based on life skills and intrinsic empowerment in encouraging behaviors as well as emotional and physical habits that reduce risk of childhood obesity, although long-term tracking of indicators such as body mass index (BMI) are needed to determine the efficacy of the program over an extended period of time.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download