Effectiveness of Community-Based Interventions Programs in Childhood Obesity Prevention in a Spanish Population According to Different Socioeconomic School Settings

Abstract

Overweight and obesity amongst childhood are currently global health issues. However, this is the best stage of life to prevent diseases and to promote healthy habits. In our study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the THAO Salud Infantil, a community-based intervention program, by means of a cross-sectional study carried out from 2009 to 2019 surveying children aged 3 to 12 years old (n = 27,686). During the study timeframe, overweight and obesity prevalence, according to both the International Obesity Task Force and Orbegozo Foundation criteria, showed a downward trend. Differences in the anthropometric variables were observed from the beginning to the end of the study, mainly in girls. Analysis of the influence of the socioeconomic status revealed that children from families with lower incomes are in greater risk of suffering from overweight and obesity and showed lower effectiveness of the actions proposed by the program. The overall results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of community-based interventions in terms of childhood overweight/obesity prevention.