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The Trasobares Pérez family participates in the Melipop study of the Genud group at the University of Zaragoza, which aims to improve the eating and sports habits of children between 3 and 6 years old.
"The pediatrician encouraged us to participate when she saw our characteristics and those of our older children. We thought it was a good idea because it meant improving health and collaborating with research. Our little son is in the study, but we have all improved our habits," says the mother. "My son is at risk of being overweight because our family has a tendency to gain weight. Participating in this study is therapy.", maintains Trasobares, while emphasizing that since they began they have learned "a multitude of issues."
The study consists of improving the health of children and to achieve this, Genud teaches two sports sessions a week and sends recipes and nutrition advice to the participants. "We have always eaten a lot of vegetables, but we did not know the importance of legumes. We had also never bought rice, pasta and whole wheat bread. Now we also make burgers with lentils and quinoa instead of always using meat, for example. "They are important issues for day-to-day life," says the mother, who assures that during the pandemic, the five members of the family followed the exercises that they sent to the little one in the house. "Logically, the changes we make in our diet affect all five of us. Without a doubt, we are very grateful and only positive things can be said," argues.
Sport is, today, a priority for this family. "Our generation did physical education and we stayed there. We believe that from a young age we have to instill it and our children do sports. The older one is paddle tennis and soccer, the middle one is handball and the younger one is karate," reveals the mother. The youngest of the family, Bruno, is, along with 70 other minors, the one who undergoes tests once a year to assess how different interventions affect his health. Added to this is a visit every four months to monitor diet and activity and improve the aspects they consider necessary.
The project coordinator reveals that they already have the first results of the study, which began in 2018, but had its data collection difficulties due to covid. "The first data reveal that thanks to the interventions we carry out, the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease is improved," says Pilar de Miguel-Etayo, project coordinator. They have not yet discovered a notable effect on body composition. "Children are already changing. We need more time, more years of study to obtain results. In any case we observe that there is a positive trend," point. Today, childhood overweight is stagnant. "There is no upward trend and that is positive," she points out.
Overweight has many causes, among which are genetics and habits. It is on this second question that our study focuses. The relevant thing about this research is that we have an intervention group and a control group. That is, there are minors who follow all our sessions and others who do not. TO"That's where we can analyze whether our interventions work or not," holds by Miguel-Etayo.
The way you communicate "is important." "We send tips and recipes through social networks and we try to do it in a fun way", specifies Larruy-García, researcher with the Genud group.
"You don't have to make a habit of the extraordinary"
"We all know the theory, both adults and children. Parents know that they have to provide healthy lunches and awareness among children has improved, but more tools must be provided. It is essential that the environment be healthier. "You don't have to make a habit of the extraordinary," defends the project coordinator.
Advertising is a barrier to the process. "It is irremediable and there we enter a world that is uncontrollable. When they say that a product has less sugar, it does not mean that it is not true, but the point is that it still has a high percentage that is unhealthy," he explains.
The fact of making food as a family and the fact that children can manipulate food is positive, according to the researcher. "There are children who don't know where a tomato comes from. They have never seen it. That is the reason why they are putting school gardens in schools. "It is fundamental," he defends.
About the Studio
The 'Meli-POP' (Mediterranean Lifestyle in Pediatric Obesity Prevention) study, in which researchers from the IIS Aragón group 'Growth, exercise, nutrition and development' participate within the 'Cardiovascular, metabolism and nutrition' program, is the first clinical trial multicenter, parallel, randomized and controlled seeks to evaluate the effect of the Mediterranean lifestyle on the incidence of childhood obesity and its complications. Directed by researchers from the Center for Biomedical Research in the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Network (CIBEROBN), it has been carried out in the cities of Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela and Zaragoza and includes a cohort of boys and girls aged 3 to 6 years with risk of obesity, with a planned follow-up of 10 years.
The CIBEROBN researchers, who coordinate a multidisciplinary team made up of paediatricians, dieticians-nutritionists and nursing, physical activity and sports professionals, maintain that the results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the factors that determine the appearance of childhood obesity and will provide relevant information for the establishment of clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of childhood obesity in Spain and other countries. Furthermore, obtaining biological samples will allow the creation of a biobank, including serum library, plasma library and DNA library, which will enable the assessment of cardiovascular risk factors (classical and omics) associated with obesity.
The recruitment period for participants in 'Meli-POP' is open. The health centers currently active in the study are Valdefierro, Bombarda, Amparo Poch, Actur Norte and Utebo, together with the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital, coordinated by Dr. Pilar De Miguel-Etayo, in Zaragoza. At the same time, they have the collaboration of the Departments of Education of the different autonomous governments of the participating cities and the Regulatory Council of the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) Poniente of Granada, the Regulatory Council of the DOP Lentil of Tierra de Campos and Pescanova SL.
