Regional networks for preventing overweight in children

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: May 21, 2012 | Revision accepted: February 21, 2013

Important factors in the network’s construction phase

Introduction

These days, children are confronted with health problems caused by industrialisation and its social consequences, including increased urbanisation, mechanisation and medialisation of their environment. Over - weight in children and adolescents is one of the main problems caused by these situational changes. Overweight and lack of exercise cause many different health problems, including disturbances in the postural and locomotor systems in children, as well as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and disorders in lipid metabolism [1].

These developments raise questions about the possibilities of actively making changes in the children‘s situation (“situational prevention”), in order to counteract the problem of overweight in children and adolescents and its sequelae.

The regional network is one possible organisational form to prevent overweight in children, as these networks can concentrate the activities of all participants in a region. In spite of the advantages of this form of organisation, there may be problems in planning and orientation. The current study was part of the project “Regionen mit peb” [regions with peb] from the platform Ernährung und Bewegung e. V. (peb) [Nutrition and Exercise] and was intended to examine the network as an organisational form to prevent overweight in children, focussing on the initial construction of the network. Favourable and unfavourable factors were identified, which can be created or considered when a stable network is to be constructed.

Summary

The term “regional network” implies that several participants cooperate within a common structure, which is a suitable approach for preventing overweight in children. The construction of a stable network may be either supported or discouraged by external factors. These factors have been collected from the available literature and tested by an expert panel using a questionnaire. The tested persons were leading participants in the networks “Regionen mit peb” [regions with peb], a project of the platform “Ernährung und Bewegung e. V.” [Nutrition and Exercise]. The survey found out that most of the supporting factors were indeed considered during the construction phase. It is nevertheless possible that networks in the active phase are sometimes faced with problems such as ineffectiveness, due to difficulties in reaching decisions and wasted time.

Keywords: prevention, situational prevention, networking, children, overweight

Full text PDF (free access)