Progress towards elimination of trans-fatty acids in foods commonly consumed in four Latin American cities.

Objective: To assess progress towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids (TFA) in foods after the 2008 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recommendation of virtual elimination of TFA in Latin America.

Design: A descriptive, comparative analysis of foods that were likely to contain TFA and were commonly consumed in four cities in Latin America.

Setting: San José (Costa Rica), Mexico City (Mexico), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Social conditions and urban environment associated with participation in the Ciclovia program among adults from Cali, Colombia.

The Ciclovia program (CP) has emerged as an effective initiative to promote active living in urban spaces in Latin America. This study assessed the association between social conditions, the urban environment and participation in the CP among adults living in the city of Cali, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 and 2012 among 719 adults aged 18 to 44.

Transport and health: a look at three Latin American cities.

Transport is associated with environmental problems, economic losses, health and social inequalities. A number of European and US cities have implemented initiatives to promote multimodal modes of transport. In Latin America changes are occurring in public transport systems and a number of projects aimed at stimulating non-motorized modes of transport (walking and cycling) have already been implemented.

Do health benefits outweigh the costs of mass recreational programs? An economic analysis of four Ciclovía programs.

One promising public health intervention for promoting physical activity is the Ciclovía program. The Ciclovía is a regular multisectorial community-based program in which streets are temporarily closed for motorized transport, allowing exclusive access to individuals for recreational activities and physical activity. The objective of this study was to conduct an analysis of the cost-benefit ratios of physical activity of the Ciclovía programs of Bogotá and Medellín in Colombia, Guadalajara in México, and San Francisco in the U.

An inside look at active transportation in Bogotá: a qualitative study.

Background: The health benefits of physical activity are well documented in scientific literature. Bicycling for transportation is a modality of physical activity that people can incorporate easily into their daily lives.

Methods: A qualitative study using 11 semi-structured individual interviews and 5 focus groups was conducted among 31 male and 13 female adult residents of Bogotá, Colombia in 2006, to explore barriers and facilitators of bicycle use for transportation purposes.

Voluntary reduction of trans-fatty acids in Latin America and the Caribbean: current situation.

As part of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Trans-Fat-Free Americas initiative, 12 representatives from food industries in Latin America and the Caribbean signed a declaration stating their intention to voluntarily eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA) from the Americas. A year later, in order to document the extent of the voluntary reduction, each declarant was asked to describe all reformulations and reductions in the TFA content of their products. After up to six requests for data, only three declarants provided such information in detail, and three others offered an overall summary of their reformulations.

Sponsorship of physical activity programs by the sweetened beverages industry: public health or public relations?

The growing evidence on the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity and other chronic diseases has highlighted the need to implement policy actions that go beyond programs exclusively focused on individual responsibility. In order to protect their commercial goals in Latin America, the sugar-sweetened beverage industry practices intense lobbying at high government levels in several countries across the region. This strategy is accompanied by corporate social responsibility programs that fund initiatives promoting physical activity.

Characteristics of the built environment associated with leisure-time physical activity among adults in Bogotá, Colombia: a multilevel study.

Background: Even though there is increasing evidence that the built environment (BE) has an influence on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), little is known about this relationship in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between objective built environment characteristics and LTPA.

Methods: A cross-sectional multilevel study was conducted in 27 neighborhoods in which 1315 adults aged 18-65 years were surveyed.

Quality of life, physical activity, and built environment characteristics among colombian adults.

Background: Studies assessing the association between health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) with physical activity (PA) and built environment (BE) characteristics are limited.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,334 adults from Bogotá, to assess the associations between HR-QOL with PA and BE characteristics. HR-QOL was measured using the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instruments.

The Ciclovía-Recreativa: A mass-recreational program with public health potential.

Background: The Ciclovía-Recreativa is a free, community-based program in which streets are closed temporarily to motorized transport, allowing access to walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists only. We assessed existing information about the Ciclovía as a public health strategy and proposed next steps for research and public health practice.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed and other literature, which was complemented by expert interviews and consultation.

Television viewing and its association with overweight in Colombian children: results from the 2005 National Nutrition Survey: a cross sectional study.

Background: There has been an ongoing discussion about the relationship between time spent watching television and childhood obesity. This debate has special relevance in the Latin American region were the globalization process has increased the availability of screen-based entertainment at home. The aim of this study is to examine the association between television viewing and weight status in Colombian children.

Maternal education and intelligence predict offspring diet and nutritional status.

The traditional assumption that children's nutritional deficiencies are essentially due either to overall food scarcity or to a lack of family resources to purchase available food has been increasingly questioned. Parental characteristics represent 1 type of noneconomic factor that may be related to variability in children's diets and nutritional status. We report evidence on the relation of 2 parental characteristics, maternal education level and maternal intelligence, to infant and toddler diet and nutritional status.

Poverty is a predictor of non-communicable disease among adults in Peruvian cities.

Background: Rapid health and nutrition transitional changes are resulting in greater prominence of non-communicable disease (NCD) in Latin America, particularly among the poor.

Objective: The study aims to examine the extent to which NCD pxfsrevails in Peru and the socioeconomic status (SES) as a risk factor.

Design: Between 1998 and 2000, health surveys and clinical assessments were completed on 2337 adults in six cities, 18 to 60 years of age.

Relation of neonatal iron status to individual variability in neonatal temperament.

The relation between indices of neonatal iron status and individual differences in neonatal temperament were investigated in a sample of 148 low-income Peruvian women and their newborn infants. Using cord blood, at birth we obtained measures of neonatal ferritin, serum iron, and hemoglobin. While neonates were still in the hospital, their behavior during a structured anthropometry examination was videotaped and subsequently coded on four temperament dimensions: activity level, negative emotionality, alertness, and soothability.

[Is there a link between continuous quality improvement programs and health service users' satisfaction with prenatal care? An experience in Peruvian hospitals].

Objectives: 1. To compare the level of health service user satisfaction (US) with antenatal care in hospitals where a program of continuous quality improvement (CQI) was implemented, in comparison to a reference group of patients seen at hospitals that did not participate in the program. 2.

Promoting physical activity in the Americas.

Physical inactivity, obesity, and noncommunicable disease rates are rapidly climbing to epidemic proportions and are becoming the leading causes of death and disability in the Americas and globally. The causes are complex and will require a multifaceted, multisectoral approach. Recognizing this, the World Health Organization adopted a broad-ranging process to develop a Global Strategy for the Promotion of Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, as mandated by the World Health Assembly in May 2002.

[Sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with sports physical activity in the urban population of Peru].

Objectives: To determine the frequency of sports physical activity in the urban population of Peru and to identify the sociodemographic, economic, and environmental factors associated with that activity.

Methods: This study utilized information collected by the country's National Household Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Hogares) in the second quarter of 1997. That Survey is overseen by Peru's National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática).

Social class, family, and life-style factors associated with overweight and obesity among adults in Peruvian cities.

Background: Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in Latin America.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore social and behavioral factors associated with obesity in Peruvian cities.

Design: Between 1998 and 2000 health examination surveys were conducted among adults in 1176 families identified in six cities.