Trends in prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in a community-based programme: The VIF Programme.

Background: Obesity in children is considered the main childhood health problem.

Objective: To assess the impact of 7-year community-based interventions on the trend prevalence of overweight and obesity in French preschool children and primary school children between 2008 and 2015.

Methods: Two cross-sectional studies were performed in the last grade of every pre-school and primary schools of 6 cities in 2008 and 2015.

Locally implemented prevention programs may reverse weight trajectories in half of children with overweight/obesity amid low child-staff ratios: results from a quasi-experimental study in France.

Background: The aims of the present study were to assess changes in weight status between the first and last year of primary education among children with overweight/obesity in response to locally implemented school-based prevention programs, and to assess the influence of process indicators, expressed as child-staff ratios (CSRs), on these changes.

Methods: To meet the study objectives, a quasi-experimental design was used. Four municipalities that systematically monitored the weight status of schoolchildren and participated in the "Vivons en Forme" program agreed to provide the data available in their school medical service records.

In-store marketing of inexpensive foods with good nutritional quality in disadvantaged neighborhoods: increased awareness, understanding, and purchasing.

Background: Consumers often do not understand nutrition labels or do not perceive their usefulness. In addition, price can be a barrier to healthy food choices, especially for socio-economically disadvantaged individuals.

Method: A 6-month intervention combined shelf labeling and marketing strategies (signage, prime placement, taste testing) to draw attention to inexpensive foods with good nutritional quality in two stores located in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Marseille (France).

Sociocultural Influences on Arab Women's Participation in Breast Cancer Screening in Qatar.

Breast cancer, the most common cancer among Arab women in Qatar, significantly affects the morbidity and mortality of Arab women largely because of low participation rates in breast cancer screening. We used a critical ethnographic approach to uncover and describe factors that influence Arab women's breast cancer screening practices. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 health care practitioners in Qatar.

EPODE approach for childhood obesity prevention: methods, progress and international development.

Childhood obesity is a complex issue and needs multi-stakeholder involvement at all levels to foster healthier lifestyles in a sustainable way. 'Ensemble Prévenons l'Obésité Des Enfants' (EPODE, Together Let's Prevent Childhood Obesity) is a large-scale, coordinated, capacity-building approach for communities to implement effective and sustainable strategies to prevent childhood obesity. This paper describes EPODE methodology and its objective of preventing childhood obesity.