Regional Early Childhood Diet, Bodybuilding and Physical Activity Program (PACAP)

Improving everyone’s health through diet and physical activity

The ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes implements this objective through its Regional Health Project (PRS) 2018-28 and its two Regional Health Plans (SRS) 2018-23 and 2023-28 by targeting the most disadvantaged territories of the region.

A PACAP 2024 regional specifications helps promote a balanced diet, physical activity and fight against a sedentary lifestyle among young children aged 0 to 6 years, and encourages those involved in primary prevention to take into account the reduction of social health inequalities in an approach to proportionate universalism.

The objective is to prevent overweight, obesity and other nutritional disorders from an early age in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

A socio-ecological approach

A socio-ecological approach in which actions are focused on a broad view of the determinants of health, which goes beyond actions on individual capabilities to include actions on the social and environmental determinants of health. This socio-ecological approach must be carried out with the same community of children.

Among the principles of PACAP intervention, we find in reference to the criteria for proven interventions aimed at young people on diet and physical activity published by Santé Publique France in 2017:

1. Interventions at destination children from 0 to 6 years old.
2. Interventions combining the themes offood and thephysical activity/fight against a sedentary lifestyle
3. Global interventions which concern at least 2 to 3 communities around the child (parents; professionals from the socio-educational community; catering, etc.).
4. Interventions that are part of the duration (one school year) and who are articulated between them and close together
5. Training professionals of the socio-educational community (more than 7 hours..)
6. Support professionals at implementation of health education actions aimed at children
7. Interventions that target parents and aim to improve their psycho-social skills
8. Modifications of the’environment physical and/or organizational

A territorial approach

A territorial approach by targeting priority territories through the social deprivation index developed by INSERM: the FDepand by retaining only the most disadvantaged territories of the region (last quintile (Q5) of the index).

Thus, the territories prioritized in the PACAP specifications include:

• municipalities or IRIS belonging to the most disadvantaged quintile of the social deprivation index (FDep19), that is to say the territories in Q5*.
• the priority districts of city policy as defined by decree no. 2023-1314 of 12/28/2023.

The ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will support the development of skills of early childhood stakeholders on the theme of nutrition in all disadvantaged areas of the region, during the duration of the PRS. The region has 808 municipalities and 171 IRIS classified unfavorably, the actions will therefore be financed only in these territories, according to a multi-annual schedule but the funding will not be renewed at the end of the action. It is therefore important that the project provides for and explains the conditions for the sustainability of the action.

Maps targeting intervention territories have been established. To know the list of these priority territories for each department, It is necessary, before any project submission, to contact the prevention and health promotion services of the departmental delegations of the ARS.

To find out more about these specifications or for any questions, you can contact the departmental delegation of the ARS of your territory.