About this Research Topic

Background

The share of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is increasing in most countries worldwide in line with the epidemiologic transition resulting from population aging. Hence, in many countries, NCDs account for more than 90% of the attributable mortality and more than 80% of the attributable disease burden.

It is well-recognized that unhealthy behavioral practices and deleterious lifestyle patterns are responsible for a substantial excess of the NCD burden. Hence, high levels of health literacy coupled with the implementation of health promotion activities and programs, are effective means for adequate control and prevention of NCDs at a population level.
Unhealthy lifestyle characteristics pose risks at all ages in both sexes. However, it is particularly important to focus on promoting healthy behaviors among children and youth since their exposure at childhood influences health behavior also in adulthood thereof contributing to effective control and prevention of NCDs. In addition, it is convincingly argued that the implementation of health promotion programs in children is more efficient than trying to change established unhealthy behaviors among adults.

While focusing on children in general, it is also important to place a special emphasis on the most vulnerable and marginalized subgroups of children, including those pertinent to low socioeconomic categories, children from different marginalized ethnic/minority groups (particularly the Roma and Egyptian communities), and children with different special needs ranging from subtle behavioral and cognitive problems to severe physical disability conditions.

In this context, the scope of this Research Topic is to stimulate submission of especially original research articles but also short communications (brief reports) addressing the current state of affairs regarding different aspects of health status and health behavioral/lifestyle characteristics among children in general and vulnerable/marginalized children in particular.

Potential subtopics to be addressed by interested authors may include the following:

-different methodological aspects related to assessment and measurement of health status and health behavioral/lifestyle factors among children;
-recent evidence (research findings) on the current health status and particularly the prevalence and distribution of a wide range of lifestyle/behavioral factors in children which are related to NCD development in adulthood;
-policy measures and actions implemented at a national, regional, and local level aiming at effective and sustainable behavioral changes among children;
-best practices, suitable approaches/models, and successful examples at the community level which may be scaled-up, promoted, and disseminated nationally and internationally;
-cost-effectiveness and efficiency of school-based and/or community-based health promotion interventions aiming at fostering sustainable behavioral changes among children;
-targeted interventions tailored in accordance with the specific needs and problems of vulnerable and marginalized children, including low socioeconomic groupings, minority (socially excluded) categories, and children with a wide range of special needs.

The editor, Dr Arlinda Cerga Pashoja, would like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr Genc Burazeri and Dr Jorge Gaete in the early stages of the creation of this collection.

Keywords: children, behavioral factors, health literacy, lifestyle, non-communicable diseases, NCDs

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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