Objective:

To evaluate a population-based intervention named "Early Childhood Malnutrition due to Overweight" implemented with resources of the Participatory Budget for Health program of Medellín, Colombia, in 2017.

Methodology:

Evaluative research perspective, based on the theory of change model, used in the field of health projects and programs evaluation. A case study of the convergent mixed method and equality of status was conducted. The case under analysis was the implementation and the results of the intervention "Early Childhood Malnutrition due to Overweight". The evaluation was made in two stages: 1) evaluation planning, and 2) evaluation of the processes during their implementation and the effects at the end of the intervention.

Results:

At the end of the intervention, significant effects in the anthropometric index of the children were not observed. The median weight-for-height at the beginning of the treatment was 2.52; at the end it was 2.49 (p (0.174) > 0.05). The median body mass index at the beginning of the treatment was 2.4, and at the end, it was (p (0.236) > 0.05). Nevertheless, there were individual variations in the standard deviations of the anthropometric Z-score of children, which is explained due to commitment, acceptability, and adoption of the nutritional and psychosocial recommendations by parents and child caregivers, which were identified during the evaluation of the processes. Changes not expected according to the theory of change model were also found. Those changes refer to the anthropometric variations in the child caregivers.

Conclusion:

The short-term individual effects that occurred during the "Early Childhood Malnutrition due to Overweight" intervention contributed to the anthropometric variations and the nutritional status improvement of the children and child caregivers. This is explained by the adoption of healthy lifestyles, which allow to reach the global change established for the intervention in the theory of change model.

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