https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(11)60813-1.pdf

The global obesity pandemic: shaped by global drivers and local environments

The worldwide increase in obesity has been driven by global trade liberalization, economic growth and rapid urbanization. Owing to the scope and complexity of the obesity epidemic, prevention strategies and policies across multiple levels are needed in order to have a measurable effect. Although many putative causes of the obesity epidemic exist, in this Review the effect of globalization on global trends in obesity prevalence is discussed and population-based interventions from several countries are reviewed. The authors make broad policy recommendations for obesity and chronic disease prevention at the global population level.

Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy implications

Psychological understandings and individualistic theories of human behaviour and behaviour change have dominated both academic research and interventions at the ‘coalface’ of public health. Meanwhile, efforts to understand persistent inequalities in health point to structural factors, but fail to show exactly how these translate into the daily lives (and hence health) of different sectors of the population. In this paper, we suggest that social theories of practice provide an alternative paradigm to both approaches, informing significantly new ways of conceptualising and responding to some of the most pressing contemporary challenges in public health. We introduce and discuss the relevance of such an approach with reference to tobacco smoking, focusing on the life course of smoking as a practice, rather than on the characteristics of individual smokers or on broad social determinants of health. This move forces us to consider the material and symbolic elements of which smoking is comprised, and to follow ...

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Theories of practice and public health: understanding (un)healthy practices

People’s lifestyles – whether they smoke, how much they drink, what they eat, whether they take regular exercise – affect their health and mortality. It is well known that each of these lifestyle risk factors is unequally distributed in the population.
Less is known about how these behaviours co-occur or cluster in the population and about how these patterns of multiple lifestyle risk have been evolving over time. This paper considers this in the context of the English population and sets out the implications for public health policy and practice that flow from the findings.
It reviews the current evidence on multiple lifestyle risks and analyses data from the Health Survey for England on the distribution of these risks in the adult population and how this is changing over time.

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Clustering of unhealthy behaviours over time Implications for policy and practice

Objective: To use an ecological systems approach to examine individual-, family-, community- and area-level risk factors for overweight (including obesity) in 3-year-old children. Methods: A prospective nationally representative cohort study conducted in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Participants included 13 188 singleton children aged 3 years in the Millennium Cohort Study, born between 2000 and 2002, who had complete height/weight data. The main outcome measure was childhood overweight (including obesity) defined by the International Obesity TaskForce cut-offs for body mass index. Results: 23.0% of 3-year-old children were overweight or obese. In the fully adjusted model, primarily individual- and family-level factors were associated with early childhood overweight: birthweight z-score (adjusted odds ratio, 1.36, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.42), black ethnicity (1.41, 1.11 to 1.80) (compared with white), introduction to solid foods or =21 hours/week (1.23, 1.10 to 1.37) (compared with never worked). Breastfeeding > or =4 months (0.86, 0.76 to 0.97) (compared with none) and Indian ethnicity (0.63, 0.42 to 0.94) were associated with a decreased risk of early childhood overweight. Children from Wales were also more likely to be overweight than children from England. Conclusions: Most risk factors for early childhood overweight are modifiable or would allow at-risk groups to be identified. Policies and interventions should focus on parents and providing them with an environment to support healthy behaviours for themselves and their children.

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An ecological systems approach to examining risk factors for early childhood overweight: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

This cross-government strategy is the first step in a sustained programme to support people to maintain a healthy weight. It will be followed by a public annual report that assesses progress, looks at the latest evidence and trends, and makes recommendations for further action.

Healthy Weight, Healthy lives A Cross Government strategy for England

The Coalition: Our Programme for Government document was published in May 2010, and provides an overview of the key policies that the new Coalition Government will take forward. The programme is set around inspirations of Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility and aim to deliver a radical, reforming government that will develop a stronger society, a smaller state and power and responsibility in the hand of every citizen, thereby creating a Big Society matched by big Citizens.
In understanding the Coalition Government programmes, partners need to be mindful of the potential implication for existing Sport and Physical Activity programmes, for which the Government may wish to steer in another direction or may not be their priority.
This document was prepared by the West Midlands and shared with the regions to look at possible impacts on physical activity agendas and links to current work programmes of The Coalition Programme.

Panwm

Papers

Healthy Weight, Healthy lives A Cross Government strategy for England

The Coalition: our programme for government - potential implications for physical activity