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BackgroundMexico has the highest adult overweight and obesity prevalence in the Americas; 23.8% of children <5 years old are at risk for overweight and 9.7% are already overweight or obese. Creciendo Sanos was a pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschoolers in Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) clinics.MethodsWe randomized 4 IMSS primary care clinics to either 6 weekly educational sessions promoting healthful nutrition and physical activity or usual care. We recruited 306 parent-child pairs: 168 intervention, 138 usual care. Children were 2-5 years old with WHO body mass index (BMI) z-score 0-3. We measured children’s height and weight and parents reported children’s diet and physical activity at baseline and 3 and 6-month follow-up. We analyzed behavioral and BMI outcomes with generalized mixed models incorporating multiple imputation for missing values.Results93 (55%) intervention and 96 (70%) usual care families completed 3 and 6-month follow-up. At 3 months, intervention v. usual care children increased vegetables by 6.3 servings/week (95% CI, 1.8, 10.8). In stratified analyses, intervention participants with high program adherence (5-6 sessions) decreased snacks and screen time and increased vegetables v. usual care. No further effects on behavioral outcomes or BMI were observed. Transportation time and expenses were barriers to adherence. 90% of parents who completed the post-intervention survey were satisfied with the program.ConclusionsAlthough satisfaction was high among participants, barriers to participation and retention included transportation cost and time. In intention to treat analyses, we found intervention effects on vegetable intake, but not other behaviors or BMI.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01539070.Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica del IMSS: 2009-785-120.

Mexico has the highest prevalence globally for children who are overweight. We conducted a qualitative study to understand childhood obesity in Mexico and the complex factors at play. Data were collected at three elementary schools in a low socio-economic area in Mexico City. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 children, 24 parents and 28 teachers. The children interviewed were between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. Interview texts were analysed using NVivo 9 and 10 and thematic discourse analysis was used. Findings revealed how children’s choices around nutrition and physical activity were constrained by their environment and discursive constructions.

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Objective. To identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) perceived by childcare staff for preventing childhood overweight. Materials and methods. Qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological approach; 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and 12 focus groups with 89 key informants working in six Mexican public childcare centers (CCC) were conducted. Through content and SWOT analyses, experts further ranked fifty-nine recurrent perceptions regarding healthy feeding and physical activity (PA), using the Delphi method. Results. Strengths: Acknowledgement of the CCC's responsibility in fostering healthy feeding, availability of organizational regulations, and access to PA infrastructure/indoor activities. Weaknesses: Disregard of preschool overweight as a health problem, nutritional misperceptions, and perceived risk of child injuries while conducting PA. Opportunities: Willingness to reduce children's access to junk foods, and parental active play with children during weekends. Threats: Limited family nutritional education, and restricted parental time/economic constraints/ access to safe public spaces for PA. Conclusion. The identified SWOT must be considered when developing obesityprevention interventions targeted at CCC. ResumenObjetivo. Identificar fortalezas, debilidades, oportunidades y amenazas (FODA) percibidas por personal de guarderías, para prevenir sobrepeso en preescolares. Material y métodos. Estudio cualitativo con enfoque fenomenológico interpretativo en seis guarderías públicas de la Ciudad de México. Se realizaron 18 entrevistas semiestructuradas a profundidad y 12 grupos focales con 89 directivos y trabajadores. Mediante análisis de contenido y FODA se identificaron 59 percepciones sobre alimentación y actividad física (AF), jerarquizadas por expertos mediante el método Delphi. Resultados. Fortalezas: Reconocimiento del potencial de guarderías en promover alimentación saludable, disponibilidad de reglamentos y acceso a infraestructura/práctica de AF en interiores. Debilidades: No se considera el sobrepeso infantil como un problema de salud, baja alfabetización nutricional y percepción de riesgo de lesiones al practicar AF. Oportunidades: Voluntad de limitar acceso a alimentos chatarra y estimular a padres e hijos a realizar juegos activos en fines de semana. Amenazas: Limitada orientación alimentaria y restricciones temporales/económicas/de acceso a espacios seguros para AF. Conclusión. Las FODA identificadas deben considerarse en las intervenciones para prevenir el sobrepeso en guarderías. Palabras