The sports monitor of the City Council Leire Ahedo, with the minors at the end-of-year party of 'Marching with my pediatrician', in the courtyard of the General Hospital of Valencia. KIKE TABERNER
Pediatrician Julio Álvarez Pitti used to run or walk fast with his daughters along the Valencia river, converted into a garden, like thousands of citizens.
One day, five years ago, he invited some children who were his patients at the Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk Unit of the General Hospital to go out and do physical activity with him.
It was a good experience.
He then thought of incorporating this activity into the innovative Paido program of the Valencian center's pediatric service, which aims to prevent and combat childhood obesity.
It was documented and verified that a similar initiative,
Walk with a doc
, was already working successfully in the US .
Once the knowledge had been assembled and the needs analyzed,
Marchando with my pediatrician Paido started
, with encouraging results.
Pediatricians, patients and their families meet every Thursday of the week throughout the year outside of the hospital setting to walk fast, run, play and get to know each other better.
“The results of the last two years show that the program helps achieve treatment goals.
We observed a better response, logically, in those who had greater adherence to the program”, explains Álvarez, clinical head of the Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk Unit of the aforementioned hospital in Valencia and CIBER OBN researcher.
About 50 families attend each year.
The most important thing, however, is the modification of the family's lifestyle, which increases the probability of curing obesity.
Obesity is a disease that increases the risk of developing other diseases such as diabetes, hypertension... According to the Aladino study, from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in which 16,665 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 9 participated, the prevalence of obesity was 18%.
This makes obesity the most prevalent chronic disease in childhood.
In addition, childhood obesity is a determining risk factor for suffering a cardiovascular event in adulthood (stroke, heart attack, cerebral hemorrhage...).
That is why it is very important to influence children and, above all, parents, in order to change habits and behavior patterns,
“The walks and the contact with the patients are being very beneficial.
It is a relaxed atmosphere, children and parents learn.
We talk to them.
All this interaction is important”, explains María Isabel Torró, a fundamental pillar of the programme.
She and Álvarez promoted
Marching with my pediatrician
from the Pediatric Service, supported by the Hospital management, professionals from the Valencia City Council and the Municipal Sports Foundation.
The involvement of public health professionals is essential to carry out such a project.
Pediatrician Julio Álvarez Pitti, at the end-of-course party for 'Marching with my pediatrician', at the General Hospital of Valencia.Kike Taberner
“My daughter's problem is that she has a lot of anxiety.
She comes to eat the food from the plate of others, "explains José, father of Nuria, a 14-year-old teenager, who plays in the courtyard of the General Hospital.
It's the end-of-year party for
Marching with my Pediatrician
, held last week.
There will be prizes for all children in order to encourage them.
They look fun, between the sports instructor and the pediatricians.
Many wear the red shirts of the Paido program.
“Our eight-year-old son Andreu likes to eat a lot.
not stop
In the pandemic, being locked up at home, he was tough.
Now he is better”, Empar and Emilio point out, looking at the boy.
They also attend the cooking workshop organized within Paido, under the direction of Vicente Granell, a key element in the nutritional aspect of the programme.
“He likes vegetables very little;
chickpeas, nothing, but he loves hummus”, add the parents.
Yéssica's son suffers from diabetes.
She, like the rest of the mothers consulted, shows her gratitude to the pediatricians and to the system created.
They know that the collaboration of parents is essential.
Everything goes through them.
Francisco has lost up to 40 kilos since his overweight 11-year-old daughter started on the program.
The family has changed their previous culinary habits.
It has become aware and acts accordingly.
The father recognizes that the change has begun by himself.
The nutrition expert Vicente Granell maintains that "the main problem is the lack of knowledge of what a healthy diet is."
"In our society there is a tendency to prioritize excessive eating behaviors of a social nature, saturated fats, foods rich in sugar and ultra-processed products," he explains.
In the workshop he teaches, he teaches "the basic principles of a balanced, healthy diet", to read product labels, "which give a lot of information", and to introduce children (and many parents) to the flavors of legumes, for example, that they do not enter with the ease of the dreaded sugar.
He is also involved in working out how to cook healthy dishes.
This activity is carried out within the Hospital, with the collaboration of the Consum supermarket cooperative, and as part of the Paido Program.
This is a comprehensive care program for childhood obesity, led by a multidisciplinary team.
The pediatricians of the Pediatric Service are also part of the Ciber OBN network, a Network of excellence, linked to the Carlos III Institute of Madrid, which facilitates the rapid implementation of advances in knowledge in clinical practice, points out the pediatrician.
In the consultation it is intended to know well the family context and the causes of obesity.
“The first thing is that the family is aware of the problem.
We do a motivational interview.
Unlike the surgeon, whose tool is the scalpel, ours is the word.
There is no pill here that is worth it, ”says Julio Álvarez.
Obesity is a very complex disease, which must be addressed in a multidisciplinary way, he adds.
One of the factors that has contributed to its high prevalence in recent years is consumption habits and the abuse of screens.
“It has been proven that there is a relationship between leisure screen abuse and less physical activity.
I insist: the excessive use of screens for leisure is bad for your health, it reduces the hours of activity and doing other things, it is a terrible
time stealer
that, in addition, creates an addiction.
Children want to be in front of the screen more than with others playing.
We have also verified the relationship between anxiety about eating snacks, for example, with the abuse of screens, ”says Dr. Álvarez, promoter of
Marching with my pediatrician
, the only Spanish program with the Walk with a do
c
certificate .