Performance of public policies in the prevention of child obesity: an integrative review

Obesity is a serious disease that stands out due to the excessive increase in body fat. Currently, it is considered one of the main public health problems. The study's general objective is to analyze in the scientific literature how public policies contribute to the prevention of childhood obesity. This is an integrative literature review (IR), using descriptors and searching the Cinahl, Pubmed, Scopus databases, using the Boolean "and ". A total of 13 studies were selected, of which nine (69.2) had a quantitative approach to data, most articles had cross-sectional studies (53.8%) and a randomized clinical trial (30.7%) as design. The journal with the most publications was BMC Public Health (38.4%), most studies were from the United States (46.1%), and English was the prevailing language (100%). The studies would allow for the expansion of knowledge in relation to public policies aimed at childhood obesity, which showed important results regarding the reduction of BMI, changes in eating habits and encouragement to practice physical activity, however, for them to be successful, it must take into account the local reality, sociodemographic indicators, and the intensity and duration of the implementation of these policies.