O Papel das Autarquias no combate à obesidade infantil

• Autor(a) principal: Camarinha, Bárbara
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Ribeiro, Fernanda, Graça, Pedro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/80683
• topic: Ciências da Saúde, Ciências médicas e da saúde; Health sciences, Medical and Health sciences

The fight against obesity, due to the gravity that it imposes in the life quality of individuals and the economy of the countries, is a priority in practically all Member States of the European Union. In Portugal, the 2020 National Health Plan indicates, as one of the four main goals, the monitoring of the incidence and the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, which currently, is above 30%. Although some countries have indicated a slowdown in the growth of obesity since 2006, no significant decreases have been reported in the last three decades. The multifactorial nature of their determinants, in particular those external to the health system, such as economic factors and social inequalities, does not allow an isolated solution to this problem. Municipalities have been gradually taking on responsibilities, developing legal competences and technical skills, which can give them a leading role in the fight against childhood obesity. Only at this level it is possible to act on various determinants of the disease in an integrated manner, with autonomy and executive capacity and adapted to the local socio-demographic and geographic specificities. This act requires a model of action where professionals of various fields cooperate, such as the environment, social action, education, urban development, youth and sports, economic activities, culture, municipal police, among others. This document proposes a model of intervention that aims to fight childhood obesity at municipality's level, integrating different fields and considering the nutritionist with a central coordination role.