Image credit: David Snyder/Fogarty International Center
The Global Childhood Obesity Prevention Across Borders project was launched in 2019 with a two-day workshop that brought together researchers working on obesity in Latin America and among Latino populations in the U.S. The project, which supported small collaborative contracts and a special supplement in
Obesity Review, is coordinated by Fogarty's
Center for Global Health Studies (CGHS) and has included participation by seven NIH Institutes and Centers (listed below).
Project goals
The goal of this project is to catalyze collaborations between scientists in Latin America and the U.S. working with Latino populations on childhood obesity prevention.
Project activities
Journal supplement
Fogarty coordinated a peer-reviewed scientific journal supplement, Childhood Obesity Prevention Research Across Borders: The Promise of US-Latin American Research Collaboration, published in English and Spanish in
Obesity Review that explores six cross-cutting themes: silos between nutrition and physical activity research; equity and social determinants of health focus; migration; the first years of life; innovative methods and scientific tools; and design and evaluation of evidence-informed policies.
Webinars and presentations
June-July 2021: The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), in collaboration with CGHS, hosted the Childhood Obesity Research Across Borders webinar series in June and July 2021. The first webinar discussed how social determinants of health, specifically in terms of migration and the social environment, influence childhood obesity in the United States and Latin America. The second addressed how policy changes and citizen science can influence childhood obesity prevention programs in the United States and Latin America.
Watch recordings of the webinars:
June 24, 2021 : A plenary session at the Latin American Congress of Physical Activity and Health Research discussed synergies between physical activity promotion and childhood obesity prevention research conducted across countries in Latin America and among Latino populations in the US by sharing lessons learned, identifying common research strategies, and considering where the field is moving. (recording forthcoming)
November 3, 2021: A symposium at the 19th Latin American Nutrition Society (SLAN) highlighted the major food and nutrition findings from the Cross Border supplement, provided compelling examples of cross border research and learning, and asked panelists to share their experience, lessons learned, and research strategies working on nutrition across border, and consider where the field is moving.
Events
-
May 13, 2024: Cross border collaborative awards recipients shared their results and have group discussions about the challenges and benefits of working across countries, the role of capacity building, and how this can inform moving the field of childhood obesity forward in the U.S. and Latin America.
-
November 13-14, 2019 : This two-day, in-person workshop brought together researchers to highlight synergies between research conducted in Latin America and among Latino populations in the U.S., focusing on six cross-cutting areas: social environment; built environment; migration; implementation science; measures; and capacity building. The meeting addressed the need to accelerate the adaptation and implementation of proven interventions, including program and policy strategies across the Americas. It explored the promise and challenges of working in both regions; collaboration strategies; and how to stimulate a sustainable network of researchers.
Cross border collaborative awards
To further support the development of new research partnerships between countries to address childhood obesity prevention, CRDF Global on behalf of Fogarty solicited 2020 Cross Border Collaboration Award proposals. These travel, conference and capacity building awards aimed to promote new collaborations between U.S. and Latin American investigators as well as among investigators across different Latin American countries to catalyze new science and expand capacity in performing high-quality childhood obesity research. Ultimately, 13 applications were funded:
Applications closed on February 28, 2020.
-
Understanding the effect of movement behaviors on childhood obesity and cognitive development in early childhood: establishing a cross-national collaborative
Location: Brazil, Chile, Mexico
Principal Investigator: Alejandra Jáuregui, Instituto Nacional de Salud
-
The food retail environment and its use in US-Mexico border sister cities
Location: Mexico, United States
Principal Investigator: Sara Benjamin-Neelon, Johns Hopkins University
-
Transferring the experience of Chile and Mexico to inform implementation of effective strategies to reduce childhood obesity in Costa Rica
Location: Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico
Principal Investigator: Rafael Monge-Rojas, Costa Rican Institute for Research
-
Cross-border approaches to applying novel methods for child obesity research
Location: Chile, Mexico, United States
Principal Investigator: Karen Peterson, University of Michigan
-
Building healthy environments through children-engaged citizen science in Latin American countries
Location: Brazil, Chile, Columbia, United States
Principal Investigator: Olga Sarmiento, Universidad de Los Andes
-
Crossing Three Borders: Pediatric Obesity and the Dual Burden in Ecuador, Peru and the United States
Location: Ecuador, Peru, United States
Principal Investigator: Amanda Thompson, University of North Carolina
-
Binational collaboration to reduce childhood obesity among underserved children
Location: Mexico, United States
Principal Investigator: Noe Crespo, San Diego State University
-
San Diego- Tijuana cross-border conference to build regional collaboration for childhood obesity prevention
Location: Mexico, United States
Principal Investigator: Hala Madanat, San Diego State University
-
In-store features and parent-child interactions associations with ultra-processed foods in purchase
Location: Brazil, United States
Principal Investigator: Ana Clara Duran, University of Campinas
-
Precision nutrition in childhood obesity: Principles and approaches
Location: Mexico, United States
Principal Investigator: Venkata Saroja, University of North Carolina
-
Intersections between adolescent fertility and obesity - Seeking preventive synergistic solutions
Location: Brazil, United States
Principal Investigator: Saionara Câmara, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
-
Policy Diffusion and Implementation of Frontal-of-packaging Warning Labels in Chile: Lessons to Prevent Childhood Obesity in the U.S. and Other Latin American Countries
Location: Chile, United States
Principal Investigator: Arturo Bustamante, University of California, Los Angeles
-
Designing a systems science approach to address sugary beverage availability in schools in Guatemala City
Location: Guatemala, United States
Principal Investigator: Uriyoan Colon-Ramos, George Washington University
NIH Partners
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
- NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
- NIH Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)
Scientific Co-chairs
- Rafael Perez-Escamilla, Yale University
- Abby King, Stanford University
Inquiries
Susan Vorkoper, M.P.H., M.S.W.
Public Health Advisor
Fogarty Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Email:
Susan.Vorkoper@nih.gov
Related Funding, News and Resources
Updated July 25, 2024