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Although obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention efforts to-date have focused mainly on individual level factors, the social and physical environments in which people live are now widely recognized as important social determinants of health. Obesogenic environments promote higher dietary energy intakes and sedentary behaviors, thus contributing to the obesity/NCD burden. To develop quality indicators (QIs) for measuring food and physical activity (PA)-built environments in municipalities. A literature review was conducted. Based on the best practices identified from this review, a draft set of candidate QI was retrieved. The initial 67 QIs were then evaluated by a modified Delphi panel of multidisciplinary health professionals (n  = 40) to determine their relevance, validity, and feasibility in 3 rounds of voting and threaded discussion using a modified RAND/University of California, Los Angeles Appropriateness Methodology. Response rate for the panel was 89.4%. All final 42 QIs were rated as highly relevant, valid, and feasible (median rating ≥ 7 on a 1–9 scale), with no significant disagreement. The final QI set addresses for the PA domain: (i) promotion of PA; and (ii) improvements in the environment to strengthen the practice of PA; and for Food environment domain: (i) promotion of healthy eating; (ii) access to healthy foods; and (iii) promotion of responsible advertising. We generated a set of indicators to evaluate the PA and food built environment, which can be adapted for use in Latin American and other low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the motivations and expectations of the users of the Program for Healthy Centers in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and to evaluate its potential health impact. Methods. In-depth interviews were conducted (n = 34) and a self-administered survey was sent to users of the program (n = 605). An epidemiological model was developed to estimate the impact of the program on cardiovascular events (CVE) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Results. The main motivating factors for using the healthy centers were geographic and economic accessibility (free services) and satisfaction with the care received. 14.4% (95% CI, 10.3-18.5%) of hypertensive users and 24.8% (95% CI, 17.6-32.0%) of diabetic users reported having learned of their altered values in the healthy center. More than half of the respondents reported some improvement in their knowledge about the benefits of physical activity and healthy eating; this was more frequent among those who were younger, of lower educational level, users of the public health system, users of a healthy center in the South zone and those who had a cardiometabolic risk factor (p<0.05). It was estimated that the healthy centers would prevent 12.5 cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events per year in the assisted population (4.75 events/100 000) and 47.75 DALYs due to these causes. Conclusions. The healthy centers are a favorable space for the implementation of health promotion and prevention actions, contributing to the detection of and facilitating the monitoring of risk factors, with a potential to prevent cardiovascular events and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum content of sodium in selected processed foods (PF) in Argentina was limited by a law enacted in 2013. Data about intake of these and other foods are necessary for policy planning, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring. We examined data from the CESCAS I population-based cohort study to assess the main dietary sources among PF and frequency of discretionary salt use by sex, age, and education attainment, before full implementation of the regulations in 2015. We used a validated 34-item FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) to assess PF intake and discretional salt use. Among 2127 adults in two Argentinean cities, aged 35-76 years, mean salt intake from selected PFs was 4.7 g/day, higher among male and low education subgroups. Categories of foods with regulated maximum limits provided near half of the sodium intake from PFs. Use of salt (always/often) at the table and during cooking was reported by 9% and 73% of the population, respectively, with higher proportions among young people. Reducing salt consumption to the target of 5 g/day may require adjustments to the current regulation (reducing targets, including other food categories), as well as reinforcing strategies such as education campaigns, labeling, and voluntary agreement with bakeries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food composition data are essential for the assessment of nutrient intake and the development of food policies. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of available published data not previously included in the national food composition table in Argentina (ARGENFOODS), in order to supplement the existing information. An electronic literature search was conducted of literature published from January 1997 to December 2012. An annotated search for non-indexed ‘gray literature’ was also completed. Quality of data was assessed in terms of sampling and analytical criteria. A total of 2474 potentially eligible references were identified, out of which 138 articles and reports met inclusion criteria. These studies provided information about energy value, macronutrients, micronutrients, and/or other components, such as phytochemicals, for 82 individual food items and multi-ingredient foods. Cereals, legumes and their derivatives, milk and dairy products, meat, fish and fish derivatives were the most frequently reported food groups. Non-representative sampling and poor description of the analytical quality control used were the most frequent issues found in evaluation of data quality. These results will contribute to the continuous and systematic updating of food composition databases, which are of paramount importance for public health. Collaboration among data generators, compilers, and users is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]