This week we have Dr. Zeinab Mulla, a teaching fellow in Public Health and a Nutritional Epidemiologist at Imperial College London. In this blog we are going to learn about the problems with obesity in childhood and the type of interventions currently being organised.
Childhood obesity levels
A report released by the NHS in 2019 revealed some alarming statistics about levels of obesity in young children (click here for more info). When children start school (aged 4-5) as many as 1 in 5 can be classified as obese, and by the time they are in year 6 (aged 10-11) that has risen to as many as 1 in 3. Based on current trends, some predictions suggest more than half of the adult population could be classified as obese by 2050 in England. Certain groups within the population are also more likely to have obesity. For example, people in less wealthy areas in the country are at a greater risk. We know this because every year the government measures the height and weight of children in reception and year 6 and record the postcode and ethnicity of children as well. This process is called the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP).
A community focused solution?
The government and public health professionals are always thinking of ways to address this problem. Countries such as Australia and France have used community based programmes to improve healthy lifestyles and reduce levels of obesity in children and this was also effective in people from a deprived background, narrowing the socio-economic gap. A feature of these programmes has been to not focus on weight reduction per se (to make sure they are non-stigmatising). This means the programs include everyone regardless of their weight and focuses instead on creating a healthy environment (e.g. increasing fruit and vegetable availability, access to play areas for physical activity) in which it is easier to make healthier choices.
In England I was involved in a research study to test this community approach, in a deprived area of London. Researchers from Imperial College London teamed up with a Public Health Team in the local area to implement this intervention. It targets settings where children (aged 0-16) live, learn and play and is aimed at a range of factors that influence physical activity and diet. The project was run by voluntary organizations, local play and youth centres, libraries, markets, and the local council also worked with businesses, nurses, parents, and nutritionists. The project ran for 4 years between 2014 and 2018 and is currently being evaluated to see how effective it has been. You can click here to learn more about the project.
Whilst our intervention is still being evaluated (so we don’t have the final results yet), similar programs target changes in diet such as (1) sugar swaps and snack checks, to reduce the consumption of sugary snacks and drinks, and (2) focusing on an intake of 5 five fruits and vegetables a day. For physical activity strategies include encouraging active play (to improve skills, opportunities and time spent engaging in physical activities), active travel (to increase use of active transport modes as part of daily life) and also reducing sedentary time and time sitting in front of a screen.
Take home message: In the UK, levels of obesity in children is a big concern. Finding ways to tackle this problem will likely involve a sustainable coordinated approach from the whole community with both diet and physical activity strategies.
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