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The epidemic of childhood obesity in the Americas must be stopped: Governmental and PAHO leadership are crucial

International Journal of Obesity Supplements volume 3, pages S15–S17 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Pan American Health Organization's approach to preventing child obesity is built on (1) documenting and monitoring the problem and its social and economic impacts; (2) advocating for prevention and control policies through the life-course, within and outside of the health sector; (3) leading initiatives on healthy diet and active living and educating policy makers and the public about obesogenic environments, including policies to reduce the marketing of food and beverages to children; (4) enabling healthy environments for daily life activities, especially for children in schools and community settings; (5) strengthening capacity for integrated management of obesity and noncommunicable diseases with emphasis on primary health care; and (6) mobilizing partners and resources to combat the problem.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Chessa Lutter for her careful review and editing of the manuscript and Dr Marcos Espinal for coordinating with partner institutions and convening authors from different technical areas within PAHO. We also acknowledge Dr Kira Fortune for her expert recommendations related to the determinants of health. Publication was supported in part by the Government of Aruba, the Obetech Obesity Research Center, the Pan American Health Organization and the Pan American Health and Education Foundation. JH has received grant support from the Canadian International Development Agency, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This paper is derived from the workshop ‘Education for childhood obesity prevention: A life-course approach’, co-organized by the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO) and the Panamerican Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF), and held on 14 June 2012 in Aruba, as part of the II Pan-American Conference on Childhood Obesity (http://www.paco.aw/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Area of Sustainable Development and Environmental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, USA

    E Jacoby

  2. Healthy Life-Course, Family and Community Health Area, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, USA

    R Grajeda

  3. Health Promotion, Health Education and Social Communication, Area of Sustainable Development and Environmental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, USA

    A Contreras

  4. Noncommunicable Diseases, Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control Area, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, USA

    J Hospedales

Authors
  1. E Jacoby
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  2. R Grajeda
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  3. A Contreras
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  4. J Hospedales
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Correspondence to E Jacoby.

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Jacoby, E., Grajeda, R., Contreras, A. et al. The epidemic of childhood obesity in the Americas must be stopped: Governmental and PAHO leadership are crucial. Int J Obes Supp 3 (Suppl 1), S15–S17 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijosup.2013.6

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