Didactic itineraries in the Spanish scientific scene

Introducción: En este artículo realizamos un estado de la cuestión sobre los trabajos publicados en España desde las últimas décadas del siglo XX hasta la actualidad sobre el itinerario didáctico. Con ello pretendemos averiguar cuál ha sido el enfoque utilizado por docentes e investigadores y cómo éste ha ido variando para adaptarse a las necesidades e inquietudes de cada momento. Método: Análisis del repositorio bibliográfico de Dialnet; selección de obras más relevantes para nuestra investigación desde los años 80 hasta la actualidad; ordenación cronológica y temática de las diferentes aportaciones sobre el tema objeto de estudio; establecimiento de líneas generales o tendencias en el empleo de los itinerarios didácticos a lo largo del periodo estudiado. Resultados: Hemos podido comprobar cómo el empleo del itinerario didáctico ha gozado de una larga trayectoria en nuestro país que puede remontarse a los inicios del siglo XX; ha sido empleado por los docentes en un amplio abanico de disciplinas, entre las que destacan la Geografía, la Geología y la Botánica, por una parte, y la Historia, Historia del Arte y Educación Patrimonial por otra. No obstante, los enfoques y recursos asociados a dicha estrategia han ido variando a lo largo del tiempo, por ejemplo, incorporando inquietudes relacionadas con la educación ambiental -en el caso de su empleo en las Ciencias de la Naturaleza-, o con las herramientas digitales -en el caso de las Ciencias Sociales-. Conclusiones: Se ha puesto de manifiesto la continuidad en el empleo de esta estrategia metodológica. A pesar de su larga trayectoria y del mantenimiento de determinadas tendencias, se comprueba una evolución no solo en cuanto a las materias abordadas, sino también en lo que atañe a la incorporación de nuevas cuestiones y problemáticas de gran calado en la sociedad actual, así como a los recursos didácticos empleados (TIC), acordes con las necesidades e inquietudes del presente.Introduction: In this article we carry out a state of the question on the works published in Spain from the last decades of the 20th century to the present on the didactic itinerary as a methodological strategy, in order to verify which has been the approach used by teachers and researchers to over time and how it has changed to adapt to the needs and concerns of today's society. Method: We have based ourselves on the main bibliographic compilation databases in order to order the different contributions on the subject under study chronologically and thematically. Results: We have been able to verify how the use of the didactic itinerary has enjoyed a long history in our country that can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century; It has been used by teachers in a wide range of disciplines, among which Geography, Geology and Botany stand out, on the one hand, and History, Art History, and Heritage Education -in recent years- on the other, although the approaches and resources associated with said strategy have varied over time, for example, incorporating concerns related to environmental education -in the case of its use in Natural Sciences-, or with digital tools -in the case of the Social Sciences. Conclusions: The continuity in the use of this methodological strategy has been revealed. Despite its long history and the maintenance of certain trends, an evolution is verified not only in terms of the subjects addressed, but also in regard to the incorporation of new issues and problems of great importance in today's society, as well as to the didactic resources used, according to the needs and concerns of the present

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions