Literature Review: Childhood Obesity Prevalence in England Since 2010

This literature review examines the prevalence of childhood obesity in England since 2010, exploring key factors and causes. The review synthesizes findings from various studies, including the Health Survey for England, which reveals obesity and overweight statistics among children. It highlights correlations between lifestyle factors such as physical activity, screen time, dietary behavior, and the presence of a television in the bedroom, with increased BMI and obesity rates. Studies also point to the influence of home, school, and environmental factors, including the impact of fast food availability and unhealthy food sales in deprived areas. The review uses a three-step methodology for article selection and analysis, including the use of electronic databases like CINAHL and Google Scholar. The findings underscore the severity of childhood obesity as a public health concern, emphasizing the need for interventions and further research to address this growing issue.

Prevalence of
childhood
obesity in
England since
2010
Name of the student
Name of the university

Introduction
– The literature review will investigate the prevalence of childhood obesity in
England
– It will also explore the factors or the causes that contribute to childhood obesity
amid the children in England
– Literature review will be conducted based on articles obtained from electronic
databases
– Articles published within 5 years will be included in the review

Background
– Childhood obesity has been identified as one of the most grave public health
complications of the 21st century.
– Childhood obesity is widespread in both emerging and established regions
(Ludwig 2018).
– The range of body weights for children if higher than the perfect weight, which
in turn is regarded healthy for the specific height, is labelled as either obese or
overweight.

Literature review
– Self-completion questionnaire used for determining desire to
change and weight of 3591 children.
– Data collected from the 2015 Health Survey for England
(Conolly and Neave 2016)
– 14% kids aged between 2-15 years were found to be
overweight, with other 14% being obese
– More number of boys were obese, in contrast to the girls (15%
vs. 13% respectively).Figure 1- BMI status by sex
Source- (Conolly and Neave 2016)

Literature review
– Cross-sectional study conducted amongst 374 children aged 9-11
years.
– Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and
sleep duration were allied with reduced odds of obesity (Wilkie
et al. 2016)
– Positive correlation between poor dietary behaviour and
increased screen time (ST) with childhood obesity.
– Children who participate in inactive lifestyle and do not partake
in physical workout are more probable to become obese.Figure 2- Prevalence of obesity, by age
and sex
Source- (Conolly and Neave 2016)

Literature review
– Longitudinal study conducted by Heilmann et al. (2017) that recruited children
from the UK Millennium Cohort.
– Children aged 11 years manifest an increased risk of being obese or overweight
if they watched television in their bedroom.
– Presence of television in bedroom demonstrated a significant correlation with
an augmented body mass index (BMI) and fat mass index (FMI) amid children.

Literature review
– Cross-sectional research conducted by Wilkie et al.
(2018) on an estimated 425 children of same age group
from the South West of England.
– Support from parents positively arbitrates their
participation in light intensity physical exercise.
– Prolonged usage of computer prevents kids from being
physically active and 25-49% pupils attending sports club
were more actively involved in physical exercise.
– Individual, school, and home environment influence
childhood obesity.Figure 3- Prevalence of obesity over time
Source- (Nuffield Trust 2019)

Literature review
– Systematic review conducted using 12 electronic databases.
– Children residing in deprived areas demonstrate an increased probability of
eating fast food (Turbutt, Richardson and Pettinger 2019).
– Novel study conducted by who found that there exists a statistically prominent
association between childhood obesity and unhealthy food sales (Wilsher et al.
2016).

Literature review
– 12.8% children of the age group 4-5 years were
overweight in 2017-18, compared to 9.5% obese
children (Nuffield Trust 2019).
– One in five kids aged 10-11 years were obese in 2017-
18.
– Highest rate of obesity for reception age fluctuated
from 4.9- 14.4% (Kingston upon Thames and Knowsley)
(NHS Digital 2019).
Figure 4- Obesity prevalence by Local
Authority
Source- (NHS Digital 2019)

Research methodology
– Three step process of (i) planning, (ii) conducting, and (iii) reporting was
followed for the literature review.
– Guideline developed by Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD)
considered while framing search terms and key phrases
– Extensive search of articles and grey literature conducted in CINAHL and Google
scholar
– Inclusion and exclusion criteria developed for selecting articles that were most
relevant to the research question.

References
Auger, P. 2017. Information sources in grey literature. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & co KG.
Conolly, A. and Neave, A. 2016. Health Survey for England 2015 Children’s body mass index, overweight and obesity. London: Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Goran, M.I. 2016. Childhood obesity: causes, consequences, and intervention approaches. CRC Press.
Heilmann, A., Rouxel, P., Fitzsimons, E., Kelly, Y. and Watt, R.G. 2017. “Longitudinal associations between television in the bedroom and body fatness in a UK cohort study.” International journal of obesity, 41 (10): 1503-
1509.
Kumar, S. and Kelly, A.S. 2017, February. “Review of childhood obesity: from epidemiology, etiology, and comorbidities to clinical assessment and treatment.” In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 92, No. 2, pp. 251-265).
Elsevier.
Ludwig, D.S. 2018. “Epidemic childhood obesity: Not yet the end of the beginning.” Pediatrics, 141 (3): e20174078.
McGowan, J., Sampson, M., Salzwedel, D.M., Cogo, E., Foerster, V. and Lefebvre, C. 2016. “PRESS peer review of electronic search strategies: 2015 guideline statement.” Journal of clinical epidemiology, 75: 40-46.
NHS Digital 2019. Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet, England, 2019, National Statistics, viewed 24 January 2019,
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet-england-2019/part-4-childhood-obesity
Nuffield Trust 2019. Obesity, Nuffield Trust, viewed 24 January 2019, https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/obesity?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI--Xy2vKb5wIVQouPCh3esgNlEAAYASAAEgJR6PD_BwE
Powell, F. 2019. Childhood Obesity: Getting Back to the Basics.
Turbutt, C., Richardson, J. and Pettinger, C. 2019. “The impact of hot food takeaways near schools in the UK on childhood obesity: a systematic review of the evidence.” Journal of Public Health, 41 (2): 231-239.
van Middelkoop, M., Ligthart, K.A., Paulis, W.D., van Teeffelen, J., Kornelisse, K. and Koes, B.W. 2017. “A multidisciplinary intervention programme for overweight and obese children in deprived areas.” Family practice, 34
(6): 702-707.
Wilkie, H.J., Standage, M., Gillison, F.B., Cumming, S.P. and Katzmarzyk, P.T. 2016. “Multiple lifestyle behaviours and overweight and obesity among children aged 9–11 years: results from the UK site of the International
Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment.” BMJ open, 6 (2): e010677.
Wilkie, H.J., Standage, M., Gillison, F.B., Cumming, S.P. and Katzmarzyk, P.T. 2018. “Correlates of intensity-specific physical activity in children aged 9–11 years: a multilevel analysis of UK data from the International Study of
Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment.” BMJ open, 8 (2): e018373.
Wilsher, S.H., Harrison, F., Yamoah, F., Fearne, A. and Jones, A. 2016. “The relationship between unhealthy food sales, socio-economic deprivation and childhood weight status: results of a cross-sectional study in
England.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 13 (1): 21.

Thank you!