London Funders Healthy London Network Sarah Hickey, Programme Director 15th May 2018 Sarah Hickey, Programme Director Rowena Estwick, Partnerships & Policy

A bit about…. Guys & St Thomas’ Charity We’re an independent, place-based foundation. We work with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and others to improve the health of people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.   International National Local

Breaking down the challenge of inner-city childhood obesity In partnership with:

Childhood obesity in numbers

Deprivation & inner cities

The local picture

Variation between wards

What we found

Deprivation Diversity Urban environments There is a strong but complex relationship between socioeconomic status and childhood obesity. Some aspects of the built environment encourage behaviours that lead to childhood obesity. Diversity Inner-city areas are often ethnically diverse and there is some research into ethnic differences in childhood obesity and cultural differences in diet and exercise behaviour. Urban environments Deprivation: Low incomes directly constrain the diet and exercise choices families can make. Education levels, along with the cognitive burden of living under financial strain, are also associated with and contribute to the behaviours that lead to higher rates of childhood obesity. Interventions should make positive behavioural change as easy possible - minimising the time, effort and cost. This is also less likely to lead to health inequalities than interventions which require greater effort. E.g. favour in-store interventions discouraging bulk purchases of high-energy food over dietary advice and meal planning. Diversity: Evidence suggests that whilst there are cultural differences in behaviours that contribute to childhood obesity, far more is common across groups than is different. Although interventions should take account of cultural or language differences, these differences do not require wholly distinct approaches. Rather cultural differences might best be seen as offering protective factors. E.g. opportunities to increase the scope of interventions by making use of networks and focal points in the community. Urban environments: Research struggles to unravel the precise relationship between the characteristics of an area, the people who live there and their health outcomes. However physical aspects of the environment - along with people’s perceptions of it - clearly have an impact on behaviour Changing the physical environment is important but also likely to take a long time and be costly. A more pragmatic approach would be to change how people think about the environment they live in. E.g. Reframing the school run as an opportunity for exercise or encouraging people to consider shopping in healthier stores that might only be an extra few minutes’ walk from home. Some aspects of the built environment encourage behaviours that lead to childhood obesity.

Complexity of the problem The relationship between deprivation, diversity and the urban context is often unpredictable and nonlinear. Despite this, the complexity of what drives childhood obesity does not mean that interventions must be equally complex. A broad range of relatively simple interventions - applied consistently at both the individual and community levels has the most potential to tackle childhood obesity when aggregated at the population level.

Key insights Childhood obesity is a health crisis and tackling the problem is a daunting prospect. But we believe that progress is possible. The evidence we’ve looked at from behavioural science strongly suggests that we need to rethink and reframe the issue as a normal response to an abnormal environment. So, while the issue is complex, the solutions don’t have to be complicated if you focus on four things: 4. This isn’t anybody’s job – it’s everybody’s job 3. Solutions don’t have to be complicated, but they do take time 2. Poor decisions are exacerbated by scarcity 1. Childhood obesity is a problem of inequality

Key insights explained 1. Childhood obesity is a problem of inequality 2. Poor decisions are exacerbated by scarcity 1. There is a clear and persistent relationship between childhood obesity and deprivation. A good place to start would be getting levels of childhood obesity in the poorest areas to the same as wealthier ones. Breaking the link between childhood obesity and deprivation over the next decade would bring London’s total rates down to some of the lowest in the country. 2. In an ideal world, we’d all be completely rational, able to make considered, informed decisions. But the reality is none of us are. And we know families in disadvantaged areas have less cognitive defence against unhealthy environments. The huge pressures of just trying to get by also means many families simply don’t have headspace to make healthy decisions. We need to make the right thing to do, the easy thing to do. 3. We’re being unrealistic if we believe we can achieve total change in the short term. Rather, build a plan that creates cumulative and coordinated small steps and take the time to see what works and doesn’t work. Don’t take too much time to get started. Get going and look for marginal gains such as reducing unhealthy snacking or increasing incidental physical activity. 4. The environments we live in are influenced by businesses, government and our own communities. So, there is a role for everyone to play in helping children stay a healthy weight. Of course, political leadership is needed. Where it can add real firepower is bringing decision-makers together under one shared mandate: to create and sustain healthy food and activity environments for children. 3. Solutions don’t have to be complicated, but they do take time 4. This isn’t anybody’s job – it’s everybody’s job

Principles for tackling childhood obesity These practical principles were developed using the latest behavioural evidence around the drivers of obesity. They can be used to guide both overall strategy for a suite of interventions as well as more specific projects. Design for maximum impact Universal and preventative interventions Recognise the value of a harm reduction approach Prioritise calorie consumption over physical activity Make healthy choices easier Make uptake and participation easy Look for marginal gains Don’t only focus on education Change the environment Reduce total food exposure Prioritise reducing unhealthy choices Promote incidental physical activity Combine multiple interventions

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