1. Tackling Child Obesity in Hertfordshire
Anka Johnston
Children's Healthy Weight Manager
Public Health
NHS Hertfordshire
25/04/2012

2. Main Health Consequences of Childhood Obesity
Short-term
(for obese children)
Increased risk of poor psychosocial health
Reduced quality of life
Presence of cardiovascular/ metabolic risk factors
Asthma exacerbations
Long-term
(for adults obese as children)
Persistence of obesity
Poor long-term educational and economic attainment
Increased risk of premature mortality

3. National Child Measurement Programme
Public Health Outcome Indicator - Excess Weight in 4-5 &10-11 yr old
Excess weight = Overweight and Obesity
“New National Ambition”
Sustained downward trend in the level of
excess weight in children by 2020

4. NCMP Results Hertfordshire 2010/11

5. Excess Weight in Children Starting Primary School

6. Excess Weight in Children Leaving Primary School

7. Increase in Excess Weight during Primary School
6.8%
increase

8. Reception Results by Districts

9. Year 6 Results by District

10. A Very Complex Problem

11. Calculating Future Costs
of Excess Weight
to Hertfordshire
2015
2025
(£ million /year)
Total NHS costs of all related diseases £ £
NHS costs attributable to excess weight £ £
NHS costs attributable to obesity alone £ £
Estimated wider total costs of excess weight £ £
Source: Foresight report Tackling Obesities: Future Choices
Method: cost scaled by 2.12%; the Hertfordshire proportion of the England population

12. Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England
“A new level of ambition”
A life course approach tackling excess weight in all age groups
Increasing physical activity is important but eating less is key to weight loss
Treatment will be increasingly important alongside prevention

13. A New Integrated Approach

14. Challenges Child poverty
Lack of awareness re appropriate weights for children
Parental beliefs “healthy lifestyles too challenging”
Developing a whole community approach targeting families
Limited staff/ resources for prevention and treatment work

15. Effective Prevention as part of a ‘Whole Family Approach’
Under 5’s
More support
Pregnancy
Breast feeding
Healthy Introduction of Solid Food
Group programmes on healthy lifestyle/ cooking sessions
Primary school children
More support
Healthy School Programmes
Parent Champions
After-school programmes
should address lifestyle within the family and in social settings to promote, maintain and improve health, and to prevent ill health, for families life stage approach to preventing obesity is an effective mechanism for identifying actions.
Tailored to the target population 15

16. How can we make a difference
Partnership working
Focus on key priority groups
Supporting social marketing campaigns
Brief intervention skills for all frontline staff
Transforming the workplace
Combining teaching life skills with healthy weight promotion
Becoming role model