Health Stations Program in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The Health Stations (HS) program consists of health promotion points located in public spaces, which are available free of charge for people being in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA). OBJECTIVES: To describe the profile of HS users. METHODS: A descriptive study was performed. RESULTS: From January 2012 to October 2015, a total of 831, 784 people visited the HS (44% men; 56% women). Most of them were adults from CABA, and 37.7% went to HS more than once (average: 3.28 visits per person). Excess weight was present in all age groups and in both sexes: 51.4% of children 5 to 12 years of age and 34.8% of teenagers were overweight or obese. Among adults, excess weight increased along with age, and was more prevalent in men. The weight of pregnant women was excessive for gestational age in 60% of the cases. Blood pressure levels were elevated in 41.5% of users, and blood sugar levels were high in 10.5%. The main reasons for nutritional counseling (NC) were overweight/ obesity and healthy eating, while the main NC objectives were to reduce carbohydrate consumption, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, organize the diet and start doing physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: HS are a good space to implement health promotion and prevention actions, aimed at achieving improvements in eating habits and lifestyles.