title: Identifying common metrics for evaluating school-based healthy lifestyles programs in seven countries: introduction to workshop proceedings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The worldwide childhood obesity pandemic highlights the need to instill healthy lifestyle habits in children and youths, in particular fostering and facilitating healthy eating behaviors and a high degree of physical activity. To achieve this it's important to strengthen local program evaluation capacity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the proceedings of the seven-country School-Based Healthy Lifestyles Program Evaluation Workshop held in Granada, Spain, on 13-14 September 2013 under the auspices of the Mondelēz International Foundation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Synthesis of workshop proceedings including illustrative participants' quotes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All seven countries' programs were successful at developing and presenting their Program Impact Pathway (PIP) analysis at the workshop. All countries found their PIP analyses useful and improved them based on feedback received at the workshop.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As illustrated by the participants' quotes the PIP analyses proved to be very useful in leading to in-depth critical thinking and discussion about ways to improve the programs' processes, oversight, and outcomes.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez-Escamilla
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alberg-Seberich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012572:School Health Services; D013030:Spain