The burden of disease of three food-associated heavy metals in clusters in the Danish population – Towards targeted public health strategies

Abstract Background Childhood obesity is an important public health issue worldwide and includes different risk factors, such as environmental pollutants exposure or physical activity. Neighborhood composition and green spaces availability could contrast obesogenic lifestyles and promote healthy habits, whereas, urbanization and traffic volume exposure are inversely associated with physical activity and worsen effects on childhood health. Methods This project analyzed students involved in the HBSC survey from the Piedmont Region. Data were collected in 2018, following the protocol. All the subjects were georeferenced within buffers around schools. Green-spaces availability was measured by Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI-satellite images) while urbanization was calculated by population density, traffic intensity (satellite measurements) and air pollution concentration (sampling stations). Results Overall, the sample included 3022 subjects, with amount 50% male/female and 30% for each age group (11-13-15 years old). Concerning weight status, above 14% of the all sample is obese or overweight, with, respectively, 20% among boys and 11% among girls. Preliminary analyses showed an association between weight status and population density (rural vs urbanized areas). Currently, we are analyzing the association with greenness and the other measures of urbanization. Conclusions Our preliminary findings suggest that high urbanization levels impact health implementing weight in children. We are testing the hypothesis that greenness positively influences weight status and reduce negative effects of urbanization and air pollution. The managing of these risk factors must be deepened and corroborated by active preventive Public Health strategies for improving children health. Key messages Urbanization and greenness may influence weight status in children. Public Health strategies must be improved for children health.

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Examining Australian’s beliefs, misconceptions and sources of information for COVID-19: a national online survey

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043421 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. e043421

Author(s):

Rae Thomas ◽

Hannah Greenwood ◽

Zoe A Michaleff ◽

Eman Abukmail ◽

Tammy C Hoffmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

National Sample ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Commercial Television ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

And Gender ◽

Public Health Strategies

ObjectivePublic cooperation to practise preventive health behaviours is essential to manage the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We aimed to investigate beliefs about COVID-19 diagnosis, transmission and prevention that have the potential to impact the uptake of recommended public health strategies.DesignAn online cross-sectional survey.ParticipantsA national sample of 1500 Australian adults with representative quotas for age and gender provided by an online panel provider.Main outcome measureProportion of participants with correct/incorrect knowledge of COVID-19 preventive behaviours and reasons for misconceptions.ResultsOf the 1802 potential participants contacted, 289 did not qualify, 13 declined and 1500 participated in the survey (response rate 83%). Most participants correctly identified ‘washing your hands regularly with soap and water’ (92%) and ‘staying at least 1.5 m away from others’ (90%) could help prevent COVID-19. Over 40% (incorrectly) considered wearing gloves outside of the home would prevent them from contracting COVID-19. Views about face masks were divided. Only 66% of participants correctly identified that ‘regular use of antibiotics’ would not prevent COVID-19.Most participants (90%) identified ‘fever, fatigue and cough’ as indicators of COVID-19. However, 42% of participants thought that being unable to ‘hold your breath for 10 s without coughing’ was an indicator of having the virus. The most frequently reported sources of COVID-19 information were commercial television channels (56%), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (43%) and the Australian Government COVID-19 information app (31%).ConclusionsPublic messaging about hand hygiene and physical distancing to prevent transmission appears to have been effective. However, there are clear, identified barriers for many individuals that have the potential to impede uptake or maintenance of these behaviours in the long term. We need to develop public health messages that harness these barriers to improve future cooperation. Ensuring adherence to these interventions is critical.

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