School based diabetes prevention program, Mexico

Objectives

This pilot programme aims to prevent childhood obesity, diabetes and other related non-communicable diseases by developing interactive materials for a school-based diabetes prevention programme, sensitising educational and municipal authorities to the risks of childhood obesity and diabetes, and implementing the “I want to, I can… prevent diabetes” programme in 40 schools in Chihuahua, before finally disseminating the results for other communities to copy.

The project hopes to achieve its goal of preventing childhood obesity by showing these programme results:

increased knowledge, life skills and behavioral skills related to obesity and diabetes prevention such as decision making, self-knowledge, and management of emotions, and
decreased psychosocial barriers such as fear, shame, and prejudice
In addition, the project also expects to change attitudes regarding social norms surrounding nutrition, health and diabetes. Specific behavioral outcomes include decreased consumption of sugar and processed foods and increased exercise frequency.

Approach

The programme targets 10,800 primary school students, 1,800 parents and 360 teachers in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Schools with highest childhood obesity rates and schools in communities with highest diabetes prevalence are given priority, but both rural and urban areas will be targeted when selecting schools for the programme, a process which is led by local authorities.

Comprehensive training sessions for teachers at targeted schools are implemented before health promotion activities are rolled out for the 10-11-year old pupils at the targeted schools.

Other activities include:

Sensitisation and inclusion of parents through workshops on healthy diet adjusted to local context and culture
Continuous monitoring of impact and progress, in particular through recruitment of a special intervention sub-group of pupils to be monitored vs. a control group of similar size outside of the project
Finally, results of this programme will be disseminated, and combined with advocacy towards authorities and stakeholders at various levels.

Results at completion

Guidelines and educational material developed and rolled out at 187 schools
720 teachers trained
10,230 pupils provided regular weekly classes on healthy diet and lifestyle