Cross-Sectional Analysis of Family Factors Associated with Lifestyle Habits in a Sample of Italian Primary School Children: The I-MOVE Project

Healthy Life Habits in Caregivers of Children in Vulnerable Populations: A Cluster Analysis

Intervention programs aimed at mitigating the effects of chronic noncommunicable disease (CNDs) focus on promoting healthy lifestyle habits (HLH), especially in the early stages of life. Because of this, different typologies of caregivers have been identified according to HLH during middle childhood and adolescence. However, the available studies have focused on aspects such as nutrition, physical activity, and rest, ignoring other HLHs that are equally important for children's well-being. Likewise, few studies address HLH during the first five years of life and how caregivers affect children's health. In a sample of 544 caregivers of children aged zero to five years from low-income Colombian communities, we established a typology of attitudes toward different HLHs. The results indicate the presence of three clusters that grouped caregivers with (1) positive attitudes toward all HLHs, (2) toward some HLHs, and (3) relatively low positive attitudes toward all HLHs. Membership in clusters with less positive attitudes toward HLHs was also found to be associated with low educational levels and living in rural areas. This study detected profiles of caregivers who may have unhealthy lifestyles, so the results would allow social workers to design differential interventions on HLHs in non-industrialized countries.

Healthy Snack Project: Improving Healthy Choices through Multidisciplinary Food Education Actions

School is one of the main settings where it is useful to guarantee health promotion actions, as it is well known that diet and eating habits that are shaped in the early stages of life are maintained through adulthood. The objective of this study was to carry out the "Healthy Snack" project to promote nutritional education in primary schools in the Province of Belluno in the 2022-2023 school year, in which 925 students were enrolled, and to evaluate the intervention in terms of changes in eating habits during their school breaks. Following the workshops performed by the healthcare workers (HCWs), medals were awarded, taking into account the quality of the participating students' mid-morning snacks, considering the food pyramid. The results collected in the annual survey period were related to the type and quantity of snacks consumed at school, and allowed students to gain a final score, comparing the period before and after the educational intervention to demonstrate the effectiveness of the actions promoted by HCWs and the increased nutritional quality of meals. In light of this evidence, public health strategies must continue to emphasize the importance of implementing health promotion interventions and actions aimed at children in order to prevent weight gain in this age group, and the potential development of cardiometabolic pathologies over their lifetime.