University Health Briefing: Childhood Obesity in UK & US

This briefing paper addresses the critical public health issue of childhood obesity in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). It begins with an overview of childhood obesity rates in both countries, highlighting the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. The paper then critically reviews the National Child Measurement Programme in the UK and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US, examining their roles in measuring and identifying childhood obesity. Finally, the report provides a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It (MEND) public health program in both the UK and the US, evaluating its impact on addressing diet-related diseases and improving the health outcomes of children. The paper utilizes data and research from various sources, including government reports and academic studies, to support its findings and conclusions. This report is designed to inform the local health authority on the current state of childhood obesity and the effectiveness of intervention programs.

Running head: MPH NUTRITION
MPH Nutrition
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A brief overview of childhood obesity
The issue of obesity and overweight is one of the crucial problems around the world
and in UK and US the condition of obesity and overweight has also become a serious area of
threat. From the data of the UK government, it can be stated that in the year of 2017/18
almost 9.5 per cent of the children under the age group of 4-5 years are suffering from of
obesity and on the other hand almost 12.8 per cent of the children are suffering from the
problem of overweight in the country. In case of the age group of 10 -11 years, the rate of
obesity is almost 20.1% and rate of overweight is almost 14.2% (Baker 2019). In case of US,
the obesity prevalence is almost 13.9% among 2- to 5-year-olds, among 6- to 11-year-olds the
rate is 18.4%, and among 12- to 19-year-olds the rate is 20.6% (Centres for Disease Control
and Prevention 2020).
A critical review of Assessment Technique
Due to the high rate of obesity and overweight among the children of UK, the national
child measurement programme was launched in the country and this programme is also
defined as the School Height and Weight Checks program and it is generally delivered to the
children by the local authorities. The report stated that almost 17000 schools are eligible to
take part in this program. As a part of this program, generally height and weight of the
children are measured by the local authorities. According to the report of Public Health
England (2019) it is reported that children’s overall wellbeing is mainly associated with the
body weights and healthy growing of the individuals and in this regard, it can be reported
that, identification of body height and body weight is very crucial for improving the quality
of life among the children. Moreover, the information regarding the body weight and body
height of the children in UK will help the country to take actions to improve the health and
wellbeing which includes healthy eating and enhanced physical activity among the children

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(Public Health England 2019). According to the study of Travier et al. (2014), it is stated that
assessment of the body height and body weight of children suffering from the problem of
obesity and overweight is quite helpful for designing interventions for them. On the other
hand, the study findings of Chin, Kahathuduwa and Binks (2016), stated that the use of the
physical activity and nutritional interventions is effective in reducing the issue of overweight
and obesity among the children. Along with this, the National child measurement programme
also plans to incorporate the parents of children in the program and in various other studies,
the effectiveness of inclusion of family members in the intervention programme has been
identified.
In case of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NANHES) is
responsible for examining the psychological and physical health of the individuals till the age
of 17 years and it is stated that the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources
and Services Administration is responsible for examining the emotional and physical health
of the children and as a result, early identifications of the obesity and overweight cases can be
made by using these data by the government individuals. In this regard, it can be stated that
early identification of the risk factors related to the obesity and overweight will help the
country to design proper intervention plan for the children. This survey is unique in nature as
it is the combination of physical examinations and interviews of the individuals and physical
conditions of the individuals (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention 2020). According
to the study of Kelley, Kelley and Pate (2015), it is stated that the early identification of the
obesity and overweight related risks can help in prediction in various other diseases such as
cardiovascular disease and stroke. In this current NANHES program, the data source helps to
identify the risk factors for heart disease and stroke. According to the study of Ayer et al.
(2015), it is stated that the obesity and overweight is associated with onset of cardiovascular

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diseases and so identification of obesity and overweight issues can help in identification of
heart disease among the individuals.
Effectiveness of the Intervention Program
MEND program refers to the “Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It” and it is mainly
designed to reduce the obesity among the children. This program mainly helps to reduce the
impact of obesity among the children. This program is mainly implemented in UK and in
various studies effectiveness of the MEND program is identified by the researchers. In this
context, the study findings of Smith et al. (2013) can be mentioned. In this study, it is
reported that MEND is a 10 week program based on the management program for managing
the over-weight of children of UK. As a part of this, positive parenting, active play,
nutritional education program and behavioural change can be used. The study result showed
that in this study, almost 274 children were measured in pre-intervention and post-
intervention condition. In the post-intervention condition, the BMI and waist circumferences
of the study participants were decreased by 0.5 kg/m2 and 0.9 cm respectively and on the
other hand, the z scores of these two parameters were decreased by 0.20 and 0.20,
respectively along with a p value of < 0.0001 (p<0.0001). Moreover, the application of the
MEND program also helped in improving the overall physical activities of the children of UK
community. In another study by, Kolotourou et al. (2015) reported about positive long term
impact of MEND on obesity. In this regard, it can be stated that the application of MEND
program is associated with positive long term impact on the obesity of the children regarding
improved change in behavioural changes of the children. In another study conducted in UK, it
was observed that the MEND intervention is connected with reduced level of BMI and
psychosocial outcomes. In this study, almost, 21132 families with overweight children are
referred and all of them attended two sessions/ week for 10 week time period across different
regions of England. It is reported that this sessions addresses the issues of physical activity

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program and diet intervention by using skills training, education and motivational
enhancement. In this randomized controlled study, the use of MEND program was shown to
be effective among the obese children of UK. In this study, it was reported that like previous
two studies, this study also reported about improved BMI, psychological distress and self-
esteem after the 10 week program. The study result showed that the BMI of the participants
was reduced by mean 0.76 kg m−2 (s.e.=0.021, P<0.0001). On the other hand, the zBMI score
was reduced by mean 0.18 (s.e.=0.0038, P<0.0001). Hence, it can be stated that the
application of MEND is very effective in reducing the overweight and obesity (Fagg et al.
2014).
In case of US, it is observed that the application of MEND program in US also helped
the participants to improve their physical fitness and quality of life. As per the data of CDC,
it is observed that MEND program has improved eating behaviour and the physical activity
behaviours among the individuals. In another report, it is reported that the application of the
MEND among the overweight and obese children is associated with the improvement of the
health and wellness among the children and along with this social interaction of the children
has also enhanced and those children also help other children to improve their health
condition as well. In almost 8 states of US, the MEND program was introduced and almost
4000 children took part and the study showed that MEND program produced a wide range of
benefits such as reduced body weight and waist circumference, improved fitness and
psychological measures, such as self-esteem and quality of life. According to the study of
Lobstein et al. (2015), it is stated that reduced body weight and waist circumference can
improve the issue of self-esteem and quality of life of children. Moreover, in another study, it
was reported that introduction of healthy lifestyle among the children can reduce the chances
of getting chronic illness in future (Dietz, Douglas, and Brownson 2016).

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References
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Baker, C., 2019. Obesity Statistics. House of Common Library. Retrieved from-
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Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. Overweight and Obesity. Cdc.gov.
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Chin, S.H., Kahathuduwa, C.N. and Binks, M., 2016. Physical activity and obesity: what we
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