Obesity in Latin America, a scoping review of public health prevention strategies and an overview of their impact on obesity prevention

Abstract

Objective: To describe the strategies implemented in 17 Latin American countries for obesity prevention and to provide an overview of their impact. Design: A thorough search of strategies and their impact was done through an Internet search, governmental webpages, reports, and research articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Setting: Latin America (not including the Caribbean countries). Participants: any. Results: The Ministry of Health is the main oversight for obesity prevention, with six countries having a specific structure for this. Regular obesity monitoring occurs in a few countries and 13 countries have a national obesity prevention plan. The main regulations being implemented/designed are front-of-package labeling (16 countries), school environment (15 countries), school nutrition education (9 countries), promotion of physical activity level (9 countries), and sugar-sweetened beverage tax (8 countries). All countries have dietary guidelines. The main community-based programs being implemented are school meals (17 countries), complementary nutrition (11 countries), nutrition education (14 countries), promotion of physical activity (9 countries), and healthy environments (9 countries). Most of these strategies have not been evaluated. The few with positive results have used a coordinated, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sector approach, with legislation and executive-level support. Conclusions: important obesity prevention strategies are being implemented in the 17 Latin American countries included in the present review. However, few have been evaluated to assess their impact on preventing obesity. This information can help assess which actions can be generalized to other countries within the region and can help inform how to prevent obesity in different settings.

Worldwide long-term trends in the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease during 1990–2019: A joinpoint and age-period-cohort analysis

“…Latin America, which had the highest NAFLD incidence (and far higher than in other regions), faces a serious challenge. Previous studies suggest that Latin America is the region with the fastest growing population with type 2 diabetes worldwide, as well as with the highest obesity rates, which are both major risk factors for NAFLD ( 44 , 45 ). Countries in Latin America also suffer from inadequate disease awareness, uneven health resource distribution, and a lack of long-term preventive action plans to address the rapid growth of NAFLD ( 46 ).…”

Perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices in adults: an 8-Nation study from Latin America

“…Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela were mostly colonized by Spain; therefore, their urban morphology is diverse from that of Brazil, which was colonized by Portugal. Although Latin American countries share multiple sociocultural values and characteristics, there are nuances that differentiate them 63 , 64 . As in most areas of public health, evidence from many countries recommends that policy and environmental strategies will be a vital part of combating obesity rates.…”

“…Once again, physical activity has been identified as a potential lead to the path of association between social environments and obesity 60 . Historical, political, physical, economic, and social environments not explored by this research might be capable of impacting obesity rates, given that they independently influence environmental relations with obesity indices in the dissimilar countries [61][62][63] . For instance, Brazil has a dissimilar urban planning and design approach from those of the other countries in the region.…”

Healthy living behaviors in youth: a comparative study in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico

“…Several programs have succesfully implement programs on prevention and reducing obesity prevalence in the region. The Plan of Action for the Prevention of Child and Adolescent Obesity (PAHO) was signed in Latin America to promote an active lifestyle, encouraging the use of bike paths or physical activity programs at school 29,30 . This initiative pushed the implementation of fiscal policies on foods with a high energy content and low in nutrients.…”