Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Negative health behaviors initiated in childhood that persist through adulthood can be risk factors that predict CVD. In Colombia, poor lifestyle factors affecting childhood are very prevalent: 50% live a sedentary lifestyle, 48% have high fat and carbohydrate consumption, 30% are exposed to passive smoking, 14% are overweight or obese, 15.8% have hypercholesteremia, and 5% have hypertension.
Negative health behaviors initiated in childhood that persist through adulthood can be risk factors that predict CVD. In Colombia, poor lifestyle factors affecting childhood are very prevalent: 50% live a sedentary lifestyle, 48% have high fat and carbohydrate consumption, 30% are exposed to passive smoking, 14% are overweight or obese, 15.8% have hypercholesterolemia, and 5% have hypertension. In May 2009, in Bogota, Colombia, was conducted a cluster randomized trial (kindergartens) in 1216 children between 3 and 6 years old, and 928 parents with the aim of evaluate a five months educational intervention to change knowledge, attitudes and habits related to a healthy diet and active lifestyle in preschoolers. The results showed that the intervention was feasible and effective . Finally every 1216 children "cohort Usaquén" received the intervention, performing a follow-up at 18 and 36 months showing that the changes persisted over time
In 2016 the SI! Program will perform a new follow up of this cohort, in children between 9 and 13 years old, and under the assumption that the effects of this intervention have decreased, the researchers plan to evaluate through a randomized control trial the impact of a four months community educational intervention, in the cardiovascular health of these children and in knowledge, attitudes, habits and emotions towards a healthy lifestyle. The study will include children from the Usaquen´s cohort who are contacted and children of a comparable cohort (n = 1200), in order to achieve sustainable changes in the cardiovascular health of children, that impact the burden of disease in their adulthood.
Due to the high rate of migration within the country, given the social and economic difficulties faced by many Colombians, in 2015 the study population was scattered from 1 to 15 localities and from 14 kindergartens to more than 200 public and private schools, mostly in the Usaquen´s locality, with great variability ranging from the facilities, resources, length of the school day, number of children in each classroom, to the training of teachers and their low motivation and availability time to perform any initiative (data obtained from focus groups conducted in schools). For these reasons, it is not feasible to carry out a second educational intervention in schools. However, the investigators believe that a community-based intervention is an excellent choice for tracking this population.
The objective of this project is two-fold. First, it is to assess differences at baseline in healthy lifestyles between children from Usaquen's cohort and a comparable cohort. The study will also assess differences at baseline in cardiovascular health between parents from Usaquen's cohort, and a comparable cohort. Second, it is to assess the impact of a community pedagogical intervention in healthy lifestyles in children nine to thirteen years old.
