Tackling Childhood Obesity: An Evaluation of UK Government Strategies

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PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH
PROMOTION
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Obesity is a widely spread disease across the world and has become a worldwide
problem. Obesity or overweight can be defined as the deposition of extra fats in the
body. It could lead to the development of various health disorders which can be life-
threatening. It can increase the rate of mortality and morbidity in younger age. In the
United Kingdom, there are various policies that have been made in order to reduce the
prevalence of obesity among children. These policies are working very effective in
addressing childhood obesity. However, it has been seen that these policies are not
properly addressed by childhood obesity. There are some of the drawbacks of these
policies such as these policies focus that physical activity can prevent obesity as
making child physically active can prevent obesity but this is not so true and hence
these policies are failed to address childhood obesity properly.
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DISCUSSION
Answer 1
Obesity is a widely spread disease across the world. Obesity or overweight is a complex
disorder that is due to the deposition of an excess amount of fat in the body (Croker et
al., 2012). Obesity can increase the risk of developing a certain disease and other
health-related problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular
disease and cancer. It can be said that being obese or overweight are more likely to
associated with health disorder that is related to your weight (Croker et al., 2012).
Obesity may be due to high calories and sugar intake, not performing physical activity
and genetic susceptibility. The person can be considered as obese if is body mass
index is more than 30 (Simmonds et al., 2016). An obese person generally has greater
energy expenditure as compared to a normal weight person. This can be explained that
increased body mass required extra energy to maintain it. Obesity or overweight can be
prevented by applying a combination of personnel changes and social changes.
Physical exercise and diet are the main treatment that can be used to prevent obesity
among the population. Diet of a person can be improved by reducing the amount of
sugar and fat content such as high sugar or fat content can be replaced by low sugar
and high fibre intake. Medications can also be used along with a diet in order to control
the weight of a person (Park et al., 2012). A gastric balloon or surgery can be used to
treat obesity if the diet, medication and exercise are not effective.
Obesity is one of the most leading causes of death across the world. In the year 2015,
around 600 million adults and 100 million children were suffering from obesity in 195
countries (Uptop et al., 2014). Obesity or overweight can lead to increased risk of
mental and physical condition. It is associated with metabolic syndrome which includes
several medical disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, high triglyceride levels and
high blood cholesterol level. In the year 2017, around 22.4 per cent of children of the
age group 4 to 5 year were considered as overweight in England (Uptop et al., 2014). In
the same period, around 34.3 per cent children of the age group 10 to 11 years were
overweight. 29 per cent of girls were obese or overweight and around 26 per cent of
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boys are overweight and obese (Uptop et al., 2014). In the year 2017, 46 per cent of
Black African children of the age group 4 to 5 years were overweight or obese (Uptop et
al., 2014). The prevalence of obesity is much higher in Black African children as
compared to any other ethnic group (Uptop et al., 2014).
The causes of obesity among the population are
Consuming too many calories: An individual consume more calorie than their
expenditure, these extra calorie or fat are stored in the body which can lead to
overweight or obesity (Wilkie et al., 2016). There are several foods that tend to increase
the body weight such as fast food, processed and fatty meats, many dairy products,
fried foods, food with added sugar such as ready-made and baked goods, alcoholic
drinks, sodas, sweetened juices, high-carb foods and foods that contain hidden sugars.
Sedentary lifestyle: sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity or overweight among the
population. Sedentary lifestyle includes playing video games or using the computer
instead of performing and physical exercise and working in an office (Druet et al., 2012).
Physical exercise effect on the hormone system of a person and it has a great impact
on how the body responds to process food.
Not sleeping enough: researches have shown that inadequate sleep can lead to an
increase in the risk of developing obesity and overweight. It has been seen that 15,000
adults and 28,000 children in the UK over the period of 1977 to 2012 have concluded
that inadequate sleep pattern can significantly lead to increase the risk of developing
obesity or overweight among adult and children (Druet et al., 2012).
Endocrine disruptors: it has been seen that disturbance in endocrine function can
lead to obesity or overweight. An individual with obesity is more commonly associated
with metabolic syndrome. The various scientist has explained that there must be a
connection between obesity and high consumption of fructose and metabolic syndrome
and analyses that increase intake of fructose is an important predictor of increased risk
of metabolic syndrome in young people (Lakshman, Elks and Ong, 2012).
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Weight gain and medication: it has been seen that some medication can lead to an
increase in body fat. There are several medicines that could lead to obesity among the
population are atypical antipsychotics, especially risperidone, quetiapine and
olanzapine, mood stabilizers and anticonvulsants especially gabapentin, hypoglycemic
medications, glucocorticoids and some antidepressants (Wang et al., 2013).
Genetic factors: obesity-associated gene (FTO) and fat-mass called a faulty gene are
being responsible for obesity or overweight. In various studied it has revealed that
hormone ghrelin is playing a great role in eating behaviour of the individual (Wang et al.,
2013). Ghrelin decrease the production of growth hormones and this lead to the
accumulation of fats in the body.
However, there are no specific symptoms of obesity and overweight. The signs of
obesity and overweight include unhealthy body fat distribution and high body mass
index and this can be estimated through measuring waist circumference (Karnik and
Kanekar, 2012). There are various other factors that can cause obesity such as
ethnicity. It has been seen that ethnicity can influence the rapidity and age of onset of
weight gain. Hispanic women and African-American women are more commonly
associated with obesity than Caucasians and Asians. Hispanic men and Non-Hispanic
black men have a high prevalence of obesity than Non-Hispanic white men (Karnik and
Kanekar, 2012). Various studies have shown that a child weight during his childhood,
teenage and adulthood can continue obesity in later life.
Answer 2
There are various policies from local, national and international sources that address
the obesity among the population of the UK. At the local level, childhood obesity: a plan
action in the year 2016 has been launched to ensure that working together can improve
the nutritional content of drink and sugar that children consume and provide information
and advice to the parents (Freeman et al., 2012). The main of this policy is to address
obesity so that the financial cost can be reducing. This plan is being executed to make
the food healthier for children. Reducing the content of sugar in the drink and foods and
make it healthy and tasty so that children could easily consume. This plan also
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challenges various sugar industry or factories to take 20 per cent of sugar out of the
food that is consumed by children by 2020 (Ells et al., 2015). This can be done by a 5
per cent reduction in the first year. However, it has been seen that this can increase the
demand of consumer for healthier drink and food as a result of this plan (Ells et al.,
2015). Every day this plan presented constant opportunities and encouragement to eat
healthy foods. They have created an advertisement for children in order to promote a
healthier good option.
It has been seen that one in every five children of the age group 4 to 5 years is obese or
overweight in the UK (Ells et al., 2015). Obesity is trailing through childhood and
adolescence hence it is extremely very important to address childhood obesity in the
UK. The policy known as the UK Government's Childhood Obesity Strategy has been
made to decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK. The British dietician
association supports this policy which was published in 2016 (Martin, Chater and
Lorencatto, 2013). This program includes action to reduce the amount of sugar such as
guidance on the reformulation of high calories and sugar reduction and sugar levy on
soft drinks. BDA support and promote breastfeeding for all infants. It improves
education in order to promote and inform the appropriate introduction of sugar and drink
in a diet. These programs strongly control on advertising, marketing and promoting of
unhealthy drink and food that is highly processed foods and HFSS (Martin, Chater and
Lorencatto, 2013). The soft drinks levy industry is designed preliminary in order to
encourage and motivate producer to reduce the content of sugar in a drink so that
children could consume less sugar product and can adopt a healthy diet option. Other
than this, a sugar reduction program is being ruined by PHE. This program is being
applied through every sector such as manufactures retailers and out-of-home sector
that has the main focus to reduce the amount of sugar in every product (Martin, Chater
and Lorencatto, 2013).
In the year 2012, the World Health Assembly has recommended a comprehensive
implementation plan known as WHA global nutrition target 2025 that has the target of
no increase in childhood overweight (Martin, Chater and Lorencatto, 2013). The main
purpose of this policy is to increase action, investment and attention in order to reduce
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the prevalence of obesity among the children. The prevalence of childhood obesity has
been increasing across every region particularly in Asia and Africa. It has been seen
that, between the period of 2000 and 2013, 1 to 19 per cent of children of age group 5
years suffered from obesity in southern Africa around 3 per cent to 7 per cent in
southeast Asia (El-Sayed, Scarborough and Galea, 2012). It has been seen that obese
or overweight child are more suffer from mental trauma and hence it could lead to poor
academic performance, depression, low self-esteem and social isolation. It can also
lead to the development of the noncommunicable disease, disability and premature
death. The target of this policy is that the prevalence of obesity should not exceed 11
per cent in the year 2025 (El-Sayed, Scarborough and Galea, 2012). The aim of this
policy is to improve nutritional status and maternal health to prevent childhood obesity.
This program provides proper counselling and advice to parents in order to maintain the
weight of children. Health services, bilateral or international agencies and community
health services are providing counselling and guidance in pre-pregnancy and pregnancy
and have been providing support and promote breastfeeding for the first 6 months (El-
Sayed, Scarborough and Galea, 2012). Various national regulatory bodies are
regulating the marketing of inappropriate complementary foods and breast-milk
substitutes through the implementation of loss and healthier food option.
Answer 3
Obesity is being considered as a multifaceted problem that permits a broad systems
perspective and complex thinking in order to frame the problem, identify critical
leverage, understand potential causes and take effective action. However, it is very
important to encircle complexity in order to develop a strategy to influence the behaviour
of the individual (Lloyd, Langley-Evans and McMullen, 2012). Multisector, multilevel
strategies that are based on ecological models have been used to determine obesity
and to control and frame prevention and control strategy. An ecological model has been
used to capture many factors such as health, community, an organizational and
interpersonal policy that could be affecting the behavioural change of the individual.
Obesity and overweight have been seen as an individual problem and it is being treated
by a person or family-based psychological or medical methods (Kleinert and Horton,
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2015). Obesity has become an epidemic that could affect socioeconomic strata, diverse
age groups and ethnic or racial groups. The various laws, policies and strategies have
been made by the UK government in order to address childhood obesity or to reduce
the impact of obesity on the health of the population. A plan for action that addresses
childhood obesity has the aim to reduce sugar content in the drink and food. They had
made an action plan to challenge sugar industry to reduce the content of sugar by 20
per cent and made healthy and nutritious food and drink so that child can adopt
healthier option and hence it improves the health of the children (Kleinert and Horton,
2015). This plan is being made to reduce calories intake among children. They have
challenged all drink and food companies or factories to reduce the calories by about 20
per cent in almost every food that children consume (Yan et al., 2014). This initiative
can reduce the prevalence of obesity among children. This policy addresses childhood
obesity through reducing the promotion and marketing of unhealthy drink and food
which consist of a high amount of sugar, fat and salt. At the end of 2018, this policy has
planned a 9 pm watershed on television that adversative high is fat, salt and sugar
products (Rabbitt and Coyne, 2012).
Committee of advertising practice has made a rule in order to advertise the product. UK
government's childhood obesity strategy has made various recommendations in order to
prevent childhood obesity. An intervention is being made that include lifestyle
modification such as implement physical activity through outdoor activity, diet
modification and provide counselling and guidance to control weight. This program
promotes and supports breastfeeding by providing counsel to the mother (Knai,
Petticrew and Mays, 2016). This has been done through conducting screening session
and health promotion program that has the aim to provide awareness about
breastfeeding and its advantage. Many types of research reveal that breastfeeding for
at least 6 months is very beneficial for mother as well as infants. It improves the health
of the child and mother. The various health care professionals are taking a training
session to help the mother to breastfeed (Lee et al., 2014). Other than this, this program
conducts a training session for health care professionals in order to identify the
increased risk of obesity among children. Current diet and nutrition training is provided
to many health cares professional in order to tackle obesity among children.
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Health services and various international services have conducted several public
campaign plans in order to disseminate information regarding a healthy diet. These
campaigns are providing guidance and counselling to the public in order to how to
maintain a healthy weight and how to reduce it. Various local and national governments
have set a standard for the provision of food at school and nurseries in order to provide
healthy and nutritious foods (Jebb, Aveyard and Hawkes, 2013). Media regulatory
agencies and government communication are providing a message on TV about child
weight and infant feeding as well as physical activity and height in order to ensure the
consistency with international and national guidelines. Government taxation authority is
playing a key role in removing the tax exemption on advertising nutritious foods such as
high in saturated fats, sugar-sweetened beverage, free sugar or salt and trans-fats.
The UNICEF and WHO has taken an initiative that has the aim to improve breastfeeding
and to implement it in many countries (Haddad et al., 2015). They are providing
extensive guidance and advice to the mother regarding breastfeeding. Local and
national authorities are supporting and promoting a healthier and more nourishing
product. This policy is very effective in order to identify the opportunities as well as
challenges in order to address the public health issue of obesity and overweight in the
children (Haddad et al., 2015). The policy is taking measurements in order to address
early life exposure to improve growth pattern and nutritional status include improvement
of social norms and community understanding that are related to the growth and
development of a child.
Answer 4
The government of UK has planned several policies in order to reduce the prevalence of
obesity among children. However, every policy has certain drawbacks or advantages
that depend on conditions. It has been seen that the government's childhood obesity
plan has not been so effective in addressing childhood obesity (Shekar et al., 2016).
This policy is not addressing junk food as a leading cause of obesity and overweight
among children. This plan neglect junk food marketing as it has been seen that junk
food is most commonly consumed among children. This policy has planned soft drink
levy industry in order to reduce the prevalence of obesity among children, however, it
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has been seen that soft drink levy industry is not enough to address childhood obesity.
The strategy needs to re-affirms their commitment towards soft drink levy industry that
can also be called as a sugar tax. However, it has been seen that this step is very
necessary in order to reduce the rate of childhood obesity in the UK (Shekar et al.,
2016).
In research, it has been seen that children are consuming up to three times more
amount of sugar than the previous one and hence levy is one measure that could not
control obesity among children. Sugar levy alone cannot be considered as the best
option to ensure children live a healthy and long life. This strategy also focuses that
simply making a child more active can prevent obesity (Shekar et al., 2016). It can be
said that exercise is important to maintain good health but it could not cure totally.
Professor Linda Bauld has explained that children are taking part in physical exercise is
a good thing but the exercise cannot be considered as a golden method that solves
obesity among children. He said that a strategy that does not address junk food is not
enough to protect the child form certain health disorders. It has been seen that now a
day there is full of the announcement of warm words but there is no plan for
enforcement. However, this plan is consist of many policies that include decreasing
sugar content by 20 per cent in drink and foods and improving food and drink in schools
eaten by children (Haddad et al., 2015). It has been noticed that many sugar and
beverage companies have not reduced the content of sugar in their drink and foods and
no action has been taken against them.
In order to tackle obesity among children, the UK government needs to decrease the
impact of price promotion and deep discounting of unhealthy drink and foods. There are
lots of financial budgets are required in order to execute and implement and policy that
is beneficial to the general public. It has been seen that the government of the UK has
not provided enough fund and loan in order to execute and policy addressing childhood
obesity and hence it affects the health of the population (Haddad et al., 2015). In the
health and social care sector, the health care professional has made so many policies
but many of them are not been executed due to financial support.
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The main agenda of these policies is to maintain a diet that could improve the
prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK but it has been seen that only diet factor
could not improve the health of the individual and hence combination of therapy is being
required to reduce the prevalence of obesity among children (Hooper et al., 2017).
However, in most of the places, these policies are working very effective that address
childhood obesity and reduce the ill effect on the health of the population. It has been
seen that these policies are not so good in the rural area that address childhood
obesity. Proper awareness and training session has not been conducted in a rural area
that could prevent obesity. It has been seen that rural people are less educated and
hence health care professionals need to do more focus and need to make more strong
policies for rural people (Hooper et al., 2017). The awareness and screening program
should be such that people could easily access to it an easy and straight forward
communication between the health care professional and patient so that people can
grab the things and could be motivated enough to maintain the health and wellbeing.
However, for these extra financial supports are being needed to implement and strategy
and policy that addressing childhood obesity (Hooper et al., 2017).
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