Joined the programme in 2018.
Novo Nordisk Argentina joined Cities for Better Health in collaboration with the Citizenship Development Department of Buenos Aires city in April 2018. The partnership is working to promote actions that contribute to hold the rise of overweight and obesity, with focus on childhood obesity.
The vast majority of Argentina’s population (92%) lives in urban areas, with 47.6% concentrated in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires1. Not surprisingly, given the sedentary nature of urban lifestyles, two-thirds (67.9%) of the country’s adult population was overweight or obese in 2019, as were 41.1% of the country’s children2.
If urgent action is not taken to generate a healthy urban environment, the country’s diabetes prevalence of 6% is likely to increase considerably3. Cities for Better Health in Buenos Aires has decided to target one of the most modifiable factors contributing to the city’s rise in diabetes – childhood obesity.
Key facts and figures
6%
of adults in Argentina are living with diabetes3
67.9%
of adults in Argentina are living with overweight or obesity2
41.1%
of children in Argentina are living with overweight or obesity2
92%
of Argentina’s population lives in urban areas1
In 2018, Buenos Aires received the Active City certification which works as an important platform for the work to address diabetes, obesity and overweight.
Developing an activity monitoring system
Currently
Cities for Better Health in Buenos Aires is working with academics
from Liverpool John Moores University and Universidad Favaloro to
develop an evidence-based tool to promote physical activity in
children as part of the Youth Activity Profile (YAP) research project.
Currently, there is no national standardised and accurate measurement
tool to assess the level of physical activity in children. The goal of
the YAP project is to develop and validate a tool to measure the level
of physical activity in children and young people. This monitoring
system will allow the city to create better public health policies and
intervention strategies to prevent NCDs.
Goals to transform a vulnerable neighbourhood
Next step
for the Cities for Better Health team in Buenos Aires will be to work
with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to bring about change
in one of the city’s vulnerable communities. This will be achieved
through the creation of urban gardens, healthy eating and physical
activity interventions, sustainable transport options and education
around road safety.
"To meet the pressure and challenges brought by rapid growth and the consequences of sedentary lifestyles, especially among children, we’ve standard the power of physical activity and sport when key players work together to deliver transformative programmes. The Buenos Aires Global Active City certification is a unique model that helps us capture and meet the complexity of our task, focusing on action, impact and continual improvement."
— Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires
UN Habitat. Argentina. Accessed 24 June, 2022. https://unhabitat.org/argentina
Ministerio de Salud y Desarrollo Social. 2o Encuesta Nacional de Nutricion y Salud. 2019.
International Diabetes Federation (IDF). IDF Diabetes Atlas 10th edition. Brussels, Belgium: IDF;2021.
