Editorial - Obesity And Nutrition In Children In Latin-America: The Italy-Mexico Joint Research Programme 2011-2013
Authors: Spinelli Roberto 
Published: May 2013

I am very pleased to introduce this special issue of the
Open Obesity Journal, dedicated to the Italy-Mexico Joint
Research Programme on obesity, overweight and their
determinants in children.

Italy and Mexico have a long and successful tradition of
scientific and technological cooperation, reflected in a wide
range of agreements, scholarships and joint researches that
take place every year.

The current research is focused on understanding factors
which are related to the onset of an epidemic of obesity and
overweight in children, which is taking place all over the
world but tends to assume sensitive dimensions in Latin-
America and specifically in Mexico.

The research project has been approved within the
framework of the Executive Programme for 2011-2013 of
the Agreement of Cultural, Scientific and Technological
Cooperation between Italy and Mexico, signed in 1997 by
the General Directorate for Cultural Cooperation of the
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and the General
Direction for the Technical and Scientific Cooperation of the
Secretariat for Foreign Relationships of the National Council
of Science and Technology (Dirección General de
Cooperación Técnica y Científica de la Secretaría de
Relaciones Exteriores y del Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y
Tecnología (CONACYT)).

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is financing the
project for the whole period 2011-2013, given the high
scientific level of the institutions and researchers involved as
well as the impact that it can have in developing common research protocols and build a shared data exchange
infrastructure as basis for fostering future joint research.

The goal of the project, led by a team lead by Prof.
Francesco Giunta of the University of Pisa, Prof. Dario
Gregori of the University of Padova and Dr.Javier Dibildox
of the University of San Luis Potosí, is indeed to create a
network of collaboration within the institutions of the two
countries to promote the development of a common model
for investigating determinants of obesity in the two
countries. However, given the tight relationships existing
across the entire Latin-America, models and actions foreseen
in the program must be taken also as a proof-of-concept for
the involvement of other countries in the Region. In this
sense, the exchange of ideas and researchers across the entire
Latin-America, from Chile to Argentina and Brazil, will help
developing and laying the foundations for a lasting
collaborative relationship and eventually lead to the
implementation of an evidence-based shared vision on
nutritional, educational and in general public health policies
to be implemented.

This goal is fully consistent with the spirit of the
Agreement between Italy and Mexico as well as the efforts
of Global Public Health, which recognizes the global
dimension of the obesity epidemic in children, fostering
transnational, shared discussions and open research on it.
The Embassy of Italy has been supporting the project
since it was conceived and officially kicked-off the initiative
at the Monterrey Paediatric Conference in 2011.

I congratulate again the Open Obesity Journal for
dedicating this issue to the cooperation between Italy and
Mexico in such a delicate field as children’s health and look
forward to celebrating the completion of the project in 2013.