Sentinel Networks for the Surveillance of Overweight and Obesity: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

To address the high prevalence and significant burden of overweight and obesity, surveillance through sentinel networks should be considered. The aim of this review is to identify the sentinel surveillance networks in relation to overweight and obesity and to describe their characteristics and methodology. A scoping review was performed using MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed), Web of Science (WoS), and Scopus, updated until November 2024, and included studies that identified sentinel networks specifically conducting surveillance for overweight and obesity, as well as networks that include these conditions as secondary variables. The main characteristics of each sentinel network and the variables related to overweight and obesity surveillance were recorded. A descriptive analysis was conducted. The search strategy retrieved 467 records, of which 40 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Ten sentinel networks were identified, located in Europe (n = 5), Central America (n = 1), North America (n = 3), and Oceania (n = 1). Two were designed specifically for overweight and obesity surveillance. Eight used general practitioners or primary care physicians as their key informants; and of these, four utilized electronic medical records for recording information. One of the three sentinel networks that targeted children conducted surveillance through schools. This review highlights sentinel networks as a valuable option to surveil overweight and obesity and offers a significant step forward towards the subsequent design of new sentinel networks that will address important public health problems such as overweight and obesity.