[The importance of the process in evaluating the effectiveness of a childhood obesity campaign]

Abstract

The prevention of childhood obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of modern times. This has triggered the generation of a wealth of scientific evidence, culminating in a body of knowledge concerning the essential components of campaigns implemented in the school setting. In this regard, a growing trend towards the evaluation of research results in terms of effectiveness has become apparent, while the fieldwork itself very rarely comes under the spotlight. By considering the implementation process description of a multicomponent campaign designed to prevent childhood obesity in boys and girls in the 3^rd year of primary education in Spain (9-10 years of age), the aim of this paper is to influence the elements of this process by considering important aspects pertaining to its implementation, such as its plausibility and feasibility in the particular context.

Keywords: Diseños no experimentales; Health in schools; Intervenciones preventivas; Non-experimental designs; Obesidad; Obesity; Preventive interventions; Public health; Salud en la escuela; Salud pública.