Publications by authors named "Mario Solano Gonzales"
Background: The increasing prevalence of smartphone apps to help people find different services raises the question of whether apps to help people find physical activity (PA) locations would help better prevent and control having overweight or obesity.
Objective: The aim of this paper is to determine and quantify the potential impact of a digital health intervention for African American women prior to allocating financial resources toward implementation.
Methods: We developed our Virtual Population Obesity Prevention, agent-based model of Washington, DC, to simulate the impact of a place-tailored digital health app that provides information about free recreation center classes on PA, BMI, and overweight and obesity prevalence among African American women.
Article Synopsis
- Many schools are cutting physical education (PE) classes due to budget issues, raising the question of whether they should be mandatory to combat rising obesity rates among youth.
- A study using a model of youth in Mexico City found that offering PE classes, even if they don't meet guidelines, can lead to a decrease in obesity rates and is cost-effective over time.
- If all schools offered PE that met international guidelines, there would be even greater reductions in obesity and related health conditions, potentially saving millions in medical costs while being cost-effective even at higher overall expenses.
Background: Teaching caregivers to respond to normal infant night awakenings in ways other than feeding is a common obesity prevention effort. Models can simulate caregiver feeding behavior while controlling for variables that are difficult to manipulate or measure in real life.
Methods: We developed a virtual infant model representing an infant with an embedded metabolism and his/her daily sleep, awakenings, and feeds from their caregiver each day as the infant aged from 6 to 12 months (recommended age to introduce solids).
Objective: The study aim was to help the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland evaluate, quantify, and potentially modify the Girl Scouts Fierce & Fit program.
Methods: From 2018 to 2019, our Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research team developed a computational simulation model representing the 250 adolescent girls participating in the Fierce & Fit program and how their diets and physical activity affected their BMI and subsequent outcomes, including costs.
Results: Changing the Fierce & Fit program from a 6-week program meeting twice a week, with 5 minutes of physical activity each session, to a 12-week program meeting twice a week with 30 minutes of physical activity saved an additional $84,828 ($80,130-$89,526) in lifetime direct medical costs, $81,365 ($76,528-$86,184) in lifetime productivity losses, and 7.
Article Synopsis
- Many US infants start receiving formula by 3 months, and following guidelines is important for caregivers.
- A simulation study looked at different feeding guidelines to see if infants became overweight by 6 months.
- The study found that some guidelines had too high minimum amounts, leading to possible weight issues, while a specific guideline (WIC) worked better when caregivers adjusted to their baby's needs.