Period: September 2014 – September 2017

Financier: International Development Research Center (IDRC)

Participating institutions: IECS

Principal researchers: Vilma Irazola, Natalia Elorriaga, Rosana Poggio, Santiago Melendi, , Martin Chaparro, Laura Gutierrez

Summary:

In Argentina, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are estimated to cause 100,000 deaths and more than 250,000 coronary heart disease and stroke events per year. The prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet) has been increasing during the last decade. While most efforts to prevent obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have focused on individual factors, the physical and social environment in which people develop is now widely recognized as an important determinant of health. Obesogenic environments promote the consumption of foods with high caloric value and low nutrient quality, and sedentary habits, thus contributing to the burden of disease due to obesity and NCDs. The general objective of this study is to strengthen local capacities to promote healthier physical and dietary environments at the municipal and national levels in Argentina with the ultimate goal of reducing the burden of disease attributable to the determinants of lifestyles related to cardiovascular disease. . The specific objectives are:

1- Explore the characteristics of the implementation of the component related to lifestyles, in particular physical activity and healthy eating, of the National Healthy Municipalities and Communities Program;

2- Evaluate the characteristics of the environment in relation to physical activity and nutrition in member municipalities of the National Healthy Municipalities and Communities Program and explore the association between obesity and cardiovascular risk with environmental and individual determining factors in these two localities;

3- Develop an evaluation and monitoring tool based on indicators supported by scientific evidence and relevant at the local level, to measure the physical and food environment, a tool that can be used locally and at a central level by the National Healthy Municipalities and Communities Program to make diagnose the situation and measure changes in the environment towards better practices to prevent obesity and NCDs.