Obesity and overweight, prevention begins in schools. One in three adults does not know the related risks
OfMaria Giovanna Faiella
With the information campaign Feel Good training courses in schools for students, teachers and parents. The appeal: invest in health education and recognize obesity in the essential levels of care
Talking about obesity and overweight in schools? Almost all of the students interviewed consider it useful and almost six out of ten students would like to participate in a project dedicated to these themes. One in three adults, however, admits to being misinformed about overweight, obesity and related risks. These are some data that emerged from the survey «Preventing obesity and its risks is possible», which is one of the activities planned by Feel Goodthe information and awareness campaign on obesity aimed at adolescents and adults through training, prevention and active involvement of citizens, starting from the youngest.
The campaign in schools
The campaign, promoted by Cittadinanzattiva in collaboration with Federfarma and with the unconditional support of Novo Nordisk, involved students from five high schools in three regions (Lazio, Sicily, Piedmont) (the «Tommaso D’Oria» higher education institute of Ciriè , Turin; «Giovanni Sulpicio» high school in Veroli (FR); «Giuseppe Peano» scientific high school in Palermo) and 105 pharmacies, in the same cities, that have joined the initiative.
In schools, around 150 children completed an interactive online information-training course, created by experts and aimed at acquiring basic knowledge on three specific topics: physical and mental well-being, promoting body positivity, recognizing and addressing body shaming phenomena in life daily and online.
A similar training course was reserved for teachers and families to strengthen the role of the educational community in preventing and supporting the treatment of obesity.
Students “health informants”
The students, in turn, were the protagonists of training peer to peer addressed to classmates from the five institutes, playing the role of “health informants”; they then administered a anonymous questionnaire to classmates from other classes of your institution. 325 questionnaires were collected. Well, one student in two considers obesity “a pathology capable of causing an illness”, for almost two students in five it is an eating disorder; for two out of three students there is not a single cause that determines obesity, but several causes linked together (genetic predisposition, environmental causes, pathologies, drugs, etc.). Obese kids are more subject to bullying (over 90% say this) and have more difficulty fitting into a group (almost 70% of those interviewed say this).
For their part, the 105 pharmacies that participated in the survey administered a questionnaire to users to detect the level of awareness of risk factors. Well, from the 1043 questionnaires filled out by people who are on average highly educated, it emerged that as many as 29 percent admit to knowing little or nothing when they hear about overweight, obesity and related risks.
With respect to the causes, four out of five people attribute them to incorrect personal behavior or inappropriate lifestyles, three out of four to the co-presence of pathologies or metabolic alterations. More than half of those interviewed recognize the importance of genetic factors or of family predisposition while socioeconomic conditions and psychological factors are not perceived by many as a significant cause. It is a widespread awareness that obesity does not depend only on the good will of the individual (over 80% support this). At the same time, almost seven out of ten citizens interviewed in pharmacies consider it a real disease and almost 85% believe that it has an impact like other chronic diseases.
Childhood obesity, the risks
Childhood obesity is a major risk factor for the future development of many chronic diseases such as diabetes type 2, asthma, cardiovascular disorders, musculoskeletal diseases but also psychological issues, psychological problems.
In our country, according to data (2019) from the «OKkio alla Salute» surveillance system, coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 20.4% of 8-9 year old children are overweight And 9.4% obese.
The data (2022) from the «HBSC Italia» surveillance system (Health Behavior in School-aged Children – Behaviors linked to the health of children of school age, from 11 to 17 years) – also coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità – , highlight that the 18.2% of children between 11 and 17 years old are overweight and the 4.4% obese.
The role of pharmacies
«The pharmacy is the citizen’s first place of contact with the National Health Service, that link that allows everyone to access, anywhere in the area, the same health services and benefits» recalls the president of Federfarma Marco Cossolo, who adds : “L’obesity it’s a pathology not to be underestimated and pharmacies want to make their contribution; this is why we support the project with conviction Feel Goodsince it is in tune with the daily activity carried out by community pharmacies, where the pharmacist welcomes, informs and guides citizens on health and correct lifestyles».
Include obesity in the essential levels of care
«As the results of the campaign highlight Feel Good – comments Anna Lisa Mandorino, general secretary of Cittadinanzattiva – there is a lot to do investespecially in the youth population, too in terms of health educationFor remove barriers of a subjective nature which still hold back too many people from considering the seriousness of consequences that may be encountered. To do this, the school and also i social media they can be the privileged context for boys and girls. At the same time – continues Mandorino – it is essential that the health institutions of our country invest in promoting diagnosis and treatment paths for those who are affected; first of all recognizing obesity in the Essential Levels of Care (Lea) e strengthening Centers and specialized and integrated teams that they are today insufficient and present in a non-uniform manner on the national territory”.
Health promotion programs
Among the other proposals put forward by Cittadinanzattiva: implement a institutional awareness and information campaign on obesityto reach children, adolescents and parents, encouraging them in school curricula civic education programs aimed at promoting health and well-being (as indicated by Law 92/2019, art. 3 paragraph 2); keep watch through the Commissions cafeteria and the local health authorities to ensure that the menus set out in the existing contracts are respected, to guarantee healthy and balanced meals for different age groups; mitigate the impact of socio-economic inequalities on obesity, with interventions aimed at making access fairer to healthy eating and physical activity; counteract social stigma associated with obesity.
