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Introduction: The Mexican Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents aims to assess the prevalence of movement behaviors and opportunities to perform them., Methods: Data on 11 indicators were obtained from national health surveys, census data, government documents, websites, and published studies. Data were compared against established benchmarks, and a grade between 0 and 10 was assigned to each indicator., Results: For Daily Behaviors, we found 34.5% of Mexican children and adolescents meet Physical Activity recommendations (Grade 3), 48.4% participate in Organized Sports (Grade 5), 35-75.8% engage in Active Play outdoors (Grade 4), 54.1% use Active Transportation (Grade 5), 43.6% spend <2 h in Sedentary Behavior per day (Grade 4), and 65-91% meet Sleep recommendations (Grade 7). Girls have lower physical activity levels and sports participation than boys of the same age. For Physical Fitness, we found 56.2-61.8% of children and adolescents have an adequate body mass index for their age (Grade 6). For Sources of Influence, we found 65-67% of parents engage in physical activity or sports in a week (Grade 7), 32.2-53.3% of basic education schools have a physical education teacher (Grade 6), and 37% of neighborhoods in Mexico have sidewalks with trees (Grade 4). Regarding Government, several policies and programs aimed at improving children physical activity were launched but their impact and allocated implementation budget are unknown (Grade 6)., Discussion: Mexican children and adolescents engage in low levels of movement behaviors and have limited opportunities to perform such behaviors. The grades and recommendations provided here should be considered to improve such opportunities., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Argumedo, López y Taylor, Ortiz Brunel, Gaytán-González, González-Casanova, González Villalobos, Jáuregui, Jáuregui Ulloa, Medina, Pacheco Miranda, Pérez Rodríguez, Retano Pelayo, Rodríguez Martínez and Galaviz.)

Introduction: Mental health promotion and screenings are recommended as part of standard preventive care. Mexican immigrants in the U.S. are at high risk for mental health illness especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, however access to mental health prevention for this population has been limited, which results in important implementation and equity gaps. The Ventanilla de Salud (VDS) program provides preventive services through Mexican consulates in the U.S., Objective: The objective of this study was to assess capability, opportunity, and motivation for promotores to implement mental health programming through the VDS, leveraging early experiences of ongoing mental health prevention efforts., Methods: This was a qualitative study using the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation for Behavior Change model (COM-B). We conducted 9 focus groups with 40 VDS promotores and 6 semi-structured interviews with program stakeholders. Data were analyzed using inductive and deductive coding., Results: We found high levels of interest from the leadership, partners, and promotores to provide mental health services through the VDS. Early implementation of a mental health strategy that included training sessions for promotores and mental health promotion, screenings and referrals for VDS users was ongoing. We identified facilitators and barriers that could affect capability, opportunity, and motivation to provide mental health services. Facilitators included promotores' extensive knowledge about the importance of mental health, promotores service mindset and commitment to provide services to VDS users, and general support from the VDS network and partners. Barriers included promotores ' turnover, need for additional economic compensation, burnout, competing priorities, and lack of mental health professionals to provide clinical services or supervision. Additional investments are recommended to support promotores ' well-being., Conclusion: The main lesson learned from this study was that investing in VDS promotores ' training, resources, and well-being is key to their capability, opportunity and motivation to provide mental health services for Mexican immigrants in the US. Results from this study can be applied to improve the ongoing VDS mental health strategy and increase its impact on the mental health of Mexican immigrants., Competing Interests: At the time of the study MR worked at the Border Health Commission and was responsible for overseeing the Ventanilla de Salud program. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 González Casanova, Martínez Rodriguez, Ortiz Brunel, Rangel Gómez, de Groot, and Fernández.)

Preventive and modeling approaches to address the COVID-19 pandemic have been primarily based on the age or occupation, and often disregard the importance of heterogeneity in population contact structure and individual connectivity. To address this gap, we developed models based on Erdős-Rényi and a power law degree distribution that first incorporate the role of heterogeneity and connectivity and then can be expanded to make assumptions about demographic characteristics. Results demonstrate that variations in the number of connections of individuals within a population modify the impact of public health interventions such as lockdown or vaccination approaches. We conclude that the most effective strategy will vary depending on the underlying contact structure of individuals within a population and on timing of the interventions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are critical for infant growth and development, particularly arachidonic acid (ARA, C20:4n-6) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3). ARA and DHA are components of cell membrane phospholipids and play an important role in cell division, differentiation, and signaling; and DHA is the n-3 fatty acid predominant in the developing brain and retina. During the third trimester of pregnancy, LC-PUFAs increase substantially in fetal circulation, and a "biomagnification" process in the fetal brain is observed. Moreover, LC-PUFAs are precursors of eicosanoids and metabolites, which modulate the intensity and duration of the immune response. LC-PUFA synthesis implies complex desaturation and elongation processes on their principal precursors, linoleic acid (LA) (18:3 n-6) (series n-6) and α-linolenic acid (LNA) (20:3 n-3) (series n-3), where fatty acid desaturases (FADS) and elongases (ELOVL) are competing. It is important to notice that during the first months of life, as a consequence of low enzymatic activity, LC-PUFA synthesis from LA and LNA is reduced, especially in those infants carrying variations in the FADS and ELOVL genes, which are involved in LC-PUFA synthesis, and so they are unable to supply their own DHA and ARA needs. Homozygote infants for FADS haplotype A (97 % of the Latinoamerican population) show low levels of ARA (only 43 %) and DHA (only 24 %) when compared to those carrying haplotype D (more prevalent in Europe, Africa and Asia). Human milk is the only source of LA, LNA, ARA, and DHA for the neonate and infant till complementary feeding (CF) is introduced. Infants fed with infant formulas must receive enough amounts of LA, LNA, ARA, and DHA to cover their nutritional requirements. The new guidelines by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2016) recommend that infant formulas and follow-on formulas must contain 20-50 mg of DHA/100 kcal (0.5-1 % of total fatty acids, which is higher than in human milk and the majority of infant formulas in the market), and it is not necessary to add ARA. This new regulation, which is already applicable since February 2020, has resulted in profound controversy because there is no scientific evidence about its appropriateness and safety for healthy children. Then, different international expert groups have revised the research already published about the effects of ARA and DHA addition to infant formulas, and discussed different emerging questions from this European directive. The expert group led from the University of Granada (Spain) recommends the addition of ARA in similar or higher concentrations than those of DHA, at least equal to those present in human milk (0.3 % of total fatty acids), although preferably 0.5 % and up to around 0.64 % of total fatty acids, since new studies confirm the optimal intake of ARA and DHA during the different developmental stages. This recommendation could be of particular importance for infants carrying the haplotype A of FADS.

Preventive and modelling approaches to address the COVID-19 pandemic have been primarily based on the age or occupation, and often disregard the importance of heterogeneity in population contact structure and individual connectivity. To address this gap, we developed models based on Erdős-Rényi and a power law degree distribution that first incorporate the role of heterogeneity and connectivity and then can be expanded to make assumptions about demographic characteristics. Results demonstrate that variations in the number of connections of individuals within a population modify the impact of public health interventions such as lockdown or vaccination approaches. We conclude that the most effective strategy will vary depending on the underlying contact structure of individuals within a population and on timing of the interventions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement Authors declare no competing interests.

Objectives: Mexico's 2018 Report Card evaluates the opportunities available for Mexican children and youth to reach healthy levels of physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behavior., Methods: The Report Card is a surveillance system that gathers data from national surveys, censuses, government documents, websites, grey literature, and published studies to evaluate 16 indicators in four categories: Daily Behaviors; Physical Fitness; Settings and Sources of Influence; and Strategies and Investments. Data were compared to established benchmarks. Each indicator was assigned a grade from 1 - 10 (< 6 is a failing grade) or "incomplete" if data was insufficient/unavailable., Results: Daily Behavior grades were: Overall Physical Activity, 4; Organized Sport Participation, 5; Active Play, 3; Active Transportation, 5; Sleep, 7; and Sedentary Behavior, 3. Physical Fitness, received a 7. Settings and Sources of Influence grades were: Family and Peers, incomplete; School, 3; and Community and Environment, 4. Strategies and Investments were: Government Strategies, 6; and Non-Government Organizations, 2., Conclusion: Low grades in 11 of the 16 indicators indicate that schools, families, communities, and government need to work together to improve physical activity opportunities for children and youth in Mexico., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest. None declared.

Background: The 2016 Mexican Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth aims to assess how Mexico is doing in terms of providing physical activity (PA) opportunities for Mexican children and youth. The purpose of this article is to summarize results from the Mexican 2016 Report Card., Methods: A literature search was conducted in Spanish and English languages using major databases, and complemented with a review of government/nongovernment documents, websites, and national health surveys. Information on the 9 indicators outlined in the Global Matrix of Report Card Grades was extracted. A team of Mexican experts met to discuss and assign a grade on each indicator based on the best available evidence and established benchmarks., Results: Daily behaviors grades were Overall PA (C), Organized Sport Participation (D), Active Play (D-), Active Transportation (C), and Sedentary Behavior (D). For Settings and Sources of Influence, grades were Family and Peers (INC), School (D-), and Community and Environment (D). Strategies and Investments grades were Government Strategies (C) and Non-Government (F)., Conclusions: PA and sedentary behaviors among Mexican children and youth remain below the recommended levels. Government and communities are far from providing appropriate and sufficient physical activity opportunities for children and youth.

Background: Almost all nutrition policies in Colombia currently focus on either undernutrition or obesity, with the predominant emphasis on undernutrition. It is crucial to assess the prevalence of the dual burden of malnutrition in Colombia to better target programs and policies., Objective: The aim was to estimate the national prevalence of the dual burden of malnutrition in Colombia at the individual and household levels in children aged <5 y, school-age children, adolescents, and adults., Design: This was a cross-sectional analysis from the 2010 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey and the National Nutritional Survey that included 17,696 children aged <5 y, 25,508 school-aged children, 28,328 adolescents, 89,164 adults, and 10,487 households with mothers and children aged <5 y. The dual burden of malnutrition was defined as the coexistence of overweight and stunting or anemia in the same person or household., Results: In Colombia, low to high prevalences of overweight and obesity (3.4-51.2%) coexist with moderate to high prevalences of anemia (8.1-27.5%) and stunting (13.2%). The observed prevalence of the dual burden was lower than expected. Approximately 5% of households had at least one stunted child aged <5 y and an overweight mother compared with an expected prevalence of 6.9% (P < 0.001). Among school-aged children, 0.1% were classified as stunted and obese and 1.4% were both anemic and overweight compared with expected prevalences of 0.5% (P < 0.001) and 1.5% (P = 0.037), respectively. Among 13- to 49-y-old women, 3.4% had anemia and were overweight compared with an expected prevalence of 3.5% (P = 0.038)., Conclusions: National estimates of the dual burden of malnutrition in Colombia are lower than expected. Despite the independence of the occurrence of these conditions, the fact that the dual burden coexists at the national, household, and intraindividual levels suggests that public policies should address both conditions through multiple strategies. It is imperative to evaluate the current nutrition policies to inform malnutrition prevention efforts in Colombia and to share lessons with other countries at a similar stage of nutritional transition., (© 2014 American Society for Nutrition.)

Objective: This paper describes the rationale, design, and methods of a two-year randomized controlled trial conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an environmental intervention in 27 elementary schools in Mexico City., Materials and Methods: There were two units of analysis, school level addressing changes in elementary public part-time schools, and individual-level addressing behavioral changes in students 9 to 11 years of age. Two intensities of an intervention program were implemented (basic and plus), each containing two intervention components: physical activity and nutrition, supported by a communication/education component. Evaluation of the intervention was carried out during the school cycles 2006-2007 and 2007-2008., Results: Primary outcomes were overweight and obesity prevalence and fitness; environmental and behavioural measures were also examined., Conclusions: This is the first institutional multilevel, multifactorial project, consistent with the best practices available in current literature, carried out in Mexico to prevent childhood obesity in schools.

Objective: To quantify the physical activity (PA) of students and describe the school environment surrounding PA., Material and Methods: Between November 2005 and March 2006, in Mexico City, we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations to describe the PA and the school context., Results: Recess and physical education class (PE) were the only opportunities to participate in PA. PE occurred one time per week with a duration of 39.8+/-10.6 minutes which is less than national and international recommendations. Students participated in moderate-to-vigorous PA 29.2+/-17.8% of PE. The dynamics of PE did not promote the inclusion of all students or PA. During recess there was overcrowding of the school patio and no equipment for PA or organization of PA., Discussion: The PA of students in public schools in Mexico City can be improved by increasing the quantity and quality of PE and increasing opportunities for activity during recess.