Analysis of the Campaign on Handling Childhood Obesity in the UK
Introduction and Overview
The focus of this paper is to analyse obesity action campaign in the UK which is a charitable initiative of the national government to minimise the incidences of obesity among children. The paper is divided into four sections including introduction and overview; implementation of the campaign; evaluation and critical analysis of the campaign, and conclusion and recommendation section. Each section is discussed under appropriate subheadings that enhance the understandability of the topic under consideration.
The rationale for choosing this campaign is based on the high prevalence of the disease among children in the UK. Currently, it is estimated that a third of children aged between 2 and 15 years are obese or overweight (Cooper 2018, p.12). The earlier the children become obese, the higher the chances of developing other obese-related complications and this can potentially double the risk of premature death. Early onset of obesity places children at an increased rate of developing type 2 diabetes as they grow into adulthood which has serious ramifications including limb amputation and cause of blindness (Chambers 2017, p.50). Moreover, the obesity action campaign can significantly reduce the economic costs related to the management of obesity and its related comorbidities. For instance, the obesity treatment in the UK and its related complications was estimated to cost £5.1 billion of the 2014/15 national budget which is more than the budget allocated for the judiciary, fire service, and police combined (Reeve and Magnusson 2018, p.71). It is worth noting that the disease burden is hardest on children from low-income families and their conditions continue getting worse every year (Simpson 2015, p.37). For instance, children aged five years from poor income families in the UK are twice likely to develop obese while they are thrice probable to suffer from the disorder by the age of 11 compared to those from well-off families.
The aims of the campaign include the following: (1) to offer scientific research support required in preventing obesity-related disorders; (2) to provide education to families concerning obesity and its adverse health impacts so as to reduce its increasing impact; (3) to educate potential mothers about healthy dieting before the birth and healthy feeding of the infants, and to sensitise the public about the obesity and its negative health effects through government initiatives to discourage consumption of junk or sugary foods, encouragement of physical exercise and other private initiatives to discourage obesity risks.
The main objectives of obesity action campaign include the following:
- To identify the kind of support needed for parents struggling with children obese or own weight
- To develop evidence-based obese management strategies for children and young adults
The key messages of the campaign focus on improving public health and reduce the prevalence of obesity among children by 80% by 2050.
Addressing obesity has been a top policy priority in the UK over the last two decades. Over the last 20 years, two consecutive governments have attempted to draw together a wide range of actions aimed to fill the existing gap (Wright et al. 2015, p.2786). Currently, several policies have been formulated including the provision of support for healthy weaning and breastfeeding practices, formulation of nutritional standards in schools, and restricting advertisement of high-fat content foods as well as weight management practices (Carey et al. 2016, p.757). Through the health department, the UK government has been on the forefront in the formulation and implementation of particular action plans for physical activity and diet among children. However, past health policy action plans have not been effective in handling obesity among children since they only focused on limited areas.
Recent research has acknowledged the need to employ a multifaceted approach in tackling obesity among children in the UK. Recent studies have identified obesity as complex health problem with several drivers most of which are outside the health sector (Emmett and Jones 2015, p.178). Obesity action campaign recognises this effect hence the reason it aims to employ a comprehensive approach to address the problem (Cook 2017, p.114). For example, the campaign focuses on employing a system-wide strategy which defines the country’s health in terms of economic and societal issue. Moreover, the campaign aims to engage different stakeholders inside and outside government to come up with long-term and sustainable interventions (Baker 2018, p.45). The campaign also aims to prioritise prevention of obesity through a continuous evaluation and improvement of the program.
Implementation of the Obesity Action Campaign
The obese action campaign is a national registered charity in the UK initiated by the House of Lords in 2011 by a group of academicians and senior clinicians across the country. The objective of this charity was to address the problem of obesity disease by bringing together the experiences and voices of policy makers, academicians, educators, clinicians, patients and families so as to minimise the levels of childhood and adulthood obesity and improve the quality of life of children and their families in the country (Wiseman and Lean 2015, p.133). The charity was able to launch a national student health program (NSHP) aimed at supporting the health of children in schools across the country and offer an environment of educational excellence, psychological and physical well-being of children (Mazur and Radziewicz-Winnicki 2015, p.167). The aim of the program is to equip children with skills and knowledge necessary to effectively address obesity throughout the country. Through the parliamentary groups in the House of Lords, the government has invited professionals and experts on obesity whose main aim is to influence and deliver robust, realistic, and attainable solutions to the obesity menace facing children in the country.
It is worth noting that obesity action campaign has the potential to address most of the drivers of obesity. Obesity among children is driven by several factors including culture, genetics, environment, and behaviours (Fox et al. 2017, p.93). However, the root cause of obesity is energy imbalance: intake of more energy through eating food than what the body’s activity level (Morandi et al. 2012, p.502). In order to achieve long-term sustainable changes, this campaign targets families, individuals, communities, and schools.
The campaign implementation plan was published in August 2017 in which it set out clear strategies that need to be implemented so as to reduce childhood obesity prevalence in the country in the next 10 years. The campaign’s target audience is families, communities, schools, and individuals children in the UK.
The campaign was launched in November 2017 and its estimated cost is £500 million with the possibility to increase to £ 2billion (Cook 2017, p.116). Most of the funds are raised via charitable activities. There several ways in which campaign sources its funds including payroll giving, donations, joint promotion and cause-related marketing, events, sponsorship, and membership or employees’ fundraising (Cooper 2018, p.15). The membership or employees’ fundraising is facilitated via enhanced internal communication among the campaign staffs. The campaign staffs have also been partnering with organisations to plan events that can boost the personal relations of such firms. Obesity action campaign has also raised funds through sponsorship partnerships where it develops opportunities with high profile corporate entertainment events at national level and publications (Reeve and Magnusson 2018, p.73). Donations are done both locally and nationally and considerably contribute to the facilitation of the campaign. Payroll donations provide a tax-effective means through which employees can donate to the noble campaign.
Being obese or overweight is the biggest cause of diseases such as cancer in the UK. In particular, there are approximately 13 kinds of cancer attributed to obesity (Gwozdz et al. 2012, p.6). Unfortunately, only 15% of the UK population is aware of this health risk presented by obesity (Chambers 2017, p.52). At least one in every five children in the UK is obese or overweight before attaining the school going age. The ratio goes up to one in every three children by the time they leave primary schools. It is worth noting that these obese children are likely to grow into obese adults who are at increased risks of developing cancer. Moreover, at least one in every 11 deaths in the UK is currently attributed to obesity or overweight which accounts for approximately 30,000 annual deaths in the country which could be avoided with appropriate management of the disease (Simpson 2015, p.39). Besides causing a high number of deaths, the cost of treating obesity and its related illnesses in the UK is estimated to be in excess of £5 billion. For effective tackling of childhood obesity, the campaign has been founded on several theoretical underpinnings.
Firstly, obesity action campaign is focused on promoting and supporting breastfeeding as well as enhances education on proper complementary feeding practices. Breastfeeding has a protective effect against obesity and other diseases in the later life of a child (Carey et al. 2016, p.759). The campaign advocates for an infant to exclusively breastfed for at least first six months before the inclusion of a complementary feeding program. Secondly, obesity action campaign also recognises the importance of prenatal interventions to aid families, preschool children; infants and expectant mothers adopt appropriate feeding practices (Wright et al. 2015, p.2790). Past studies have linked overweight or obese mothers to increased risk of giving birth to overweight babies (Emmett and Jones 2015, p.179). Therefore, the lifestyle and diet during the pregnancy period have numerous benefits for both the infant and its mother. Moreover, the achievement of obesity action campaign goals is partly depended on regulating marketing and promotion of unhealthy drinks and foods particularly the processed foods (Cook 2017, p.115). Recent studies indicate that marketing for unhealthy has been on the increase. Consequently, measures to restrict such adverts have the potential to reduce the consumption of unhealthy processed foods which increase the risk of developing obesity.
Obesity action campaign has established collaborations with various partners to help in its fight against childhood diabetes. Some of these partners include world health organisation (WHO), health sector, education sector, urban planning, communications sector, transport sector, and ministry of trade and finance (Baker 2018, p.47). Effective prevention of obesity is based on the collaboration of multiple players to establish a healthier environment. For instance, the formulation and implementation of supportive physical activity programs require policy input from school-based physical exercises through the ministry of education while healthy food supply requires the input of various sectors including commerce, communication, agriculture, and food standards as well as trade and finance.
Obesity action campaigns have adopted several types of media to enhance public awareness concerning healthy nutrition choices in the UK. Mass media campaigns used in the UK include televisions, radios, magazines, billboards, and newspapers as well as social media advertising (Fox et al. 2017, p.96). Such media assist in reaching a broad audience base and improve the awareness concerning the importance of healthy eating.
Monitoring and evaluation of obesity action campaign are carried out by the committee that deals with evaluating obesity prevention and progressive efforts in the UK parliament. The evaluation committee is responsible for developing a concise and practical plan for the measurement of obesity prevention and progress efforts across the country and provides adaptable guidelines for various stakeholders involved in the campaign (Reeve and Magnusson 2018, p.76). Evaluation and monitoring play a critical role in the identifying the need for effectiveness or quality improvements in the range of interventions employed to prevent childhood obesity. By evaluating and monitoring the various campaign interventions which include championing for behavioral changes, policies, services, and programs, it is possible to assess the distribution of the obesity problem and the intervention needs (Carey et al. 2016, p.760). Monitoring of obesity action campaign also acts as a means of quality assurance on how best the ones involved in implementing the campaign programs perform or enforce them (Cooper 2018, p.13). Monitoring and evaluation also help in the long-term surveillance and assurance that implementation of interventions is achieving the intended impact or outcomes.
Evaluation and Critical Analysis of the Campaign
The various types of media used in obesity action campaign in the UK have generated numerous benefits in the control of the disease. One such media is the social marketing campaign referred to as change4life which has been focusing on supporting families and communities in making healthy decisions concerning the food and activities they engage (Chambers 2017, p.53). The change4life campaign provides information for families seeking guidelines on how their children can lose weight. The campaign integrates the advice of National Health Service providers and offers specific medical guidelines related to various obese conditions. For instance, a sub-brand of change4life media campaign known as start4life focuses on expectant mothers and the early infancy years and offers guidelines to be followed during the weaning period (Carey et al. 2016, p.758). The obesity action campaign also employs structured home visit programs targeting families with children below two years and teaches healthy weaning and breastfeeding practices. Obesity action campaign has also partnered with cartoon producers and other media channels including television media houses to broadcast their campaign contents in children-based programs (Reeve and Magnusson 2018, p.77). By broadcasting obesity-based content on such programs, an increased number of families are able to get the crucial information necessary to prevent the disease among children. Through such media, the government has been able to increase the awareness of obesity and its risk factors across a wide range of the population in the country.
Compared to campaigns against other diseases in the UK, obesity action campaign has yielded significant results. Since obesity has a high comorbidity with other diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, the government has given it a priority as its management has the potential to address such illnesses as well. It is also worth noting that government has considerably increased its funding for the obesity campaigns in the recent years.
Obesity action campaign has been effective in increasing the awareness of obesity and its risk factors across the country. In particular, the campaign has been successful in specific social units including workplaces, schools, and hospitals and this has considerably helped in addressing the issues of weight gain (Baker 2018, p.51). Moreover, the provision of cooking lessons to children aged between 11 and 14 years has considerably helped in changing their consumption behaviours. Furthermore, the introduction of fruit canteens and change of menus in schools and advocating for the reduction of time children use watching TVs has a great potential to address obesity (Fox et al. 2017, p.98). Also, the collaboration between obesity action campaign and other stakeholders such as the education and transport sector has been effective in helping in the provision of sports instructors in schools and construction of walking or cycling itineraries in the public transport system.
However, obesity action campaign has a weakness in that it addresses the disease across the whole community opposed to focusing to community subset affected by overweight or obesity. Moreover, most of the messages utilised by obesity action campaign especially through the social marketing are inherently focused on physical activities and healthy eating with a little emphasis on other obesity risk factors (Cook 2017, p.117). For instance, the campaign has not been effective in addressing other obesity risk factors such as lack of sleep and stress which might cause overweight or obesity among children and adults.
The implementation of obesity action campaign can be made more effective through increased state involvement in encouraging healthy lifestyles. Through active government involvement, the government can provide funds and regulatory framework necessary to improve food processing, labeling, and design of urban transport systems to enhance walking or cycling itineraries necessary for the promotion of physical exercise (Wiseman and Lean 2015, p.138). Moreover, increased involvement of government in the campaign can result in the construction of more sporting facilities and employment of physical education instructors and counselors in schools to assist children in their physical and psychological needs.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Recent evidence on the prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK suggests that effective management of the disease must incorporate a comprehensive and multiagency approach that focuses on minimising risk factors and their impact beginning from pregnancy period extending to the early years of a child. With approximately a third of UK’s children population being obese or overweight currently, addressing the disease through the creation of awareness is of great importance for the government (Wright et al. 2015, p.2793). The strategies employed by obesity action plan have an immense potential to increase the disease awareness in the country if appropriately implemented. For effective achievement of the aims and objectives outlined in obesity action campaign, it is important to consider the recommendations below.
First, it is recommended for the obesity action campaign to consider harnessing and adopting new technology in its campaigns. Consumer choices and purchasing power are the major drivers when it comes to making food decisions (Modi et al. 2013, p.78). Effective management of childhood obesity requires families and individuals to be enabled to access simple information concerning the salt, fat, and sugar content of the foods they buy. Capitalizing on the power of technology could significantly support healthy choices. For instance, families should be encouraged to increase their uptake of sugar smart applications such as the ones developed by change4life which helps in indicating the sugar and fat content of foods consumed on a daily basis (Cooper 2018, p.18). Moreover, commercial players should be encouraged to come with a suite of smart applications that make use of food data to guide families in their eating decisions.
Second, healthcare professionals should be enabled to support families in making healthy eating decisions. Healthcare professionals should be confident in discussing weight and nutritional issues with families and their children. Such an ambition can be facilitated by equipping health education in the UK with appropriate resources which will enable the health workforce to make each chance they have with the families and the children count (Carey et al. 2016, p.762). Health professionals should be trained in how to initiate conversations related to children’s weight and advise them on weight management. Finally, obesity action campaign in the UK can be enhanced by commissioning children food trusts to help in revising menus and early feeding programs of children across the country. Incorporating voluntary guidelines for physical exercise and dietary recommendations for children during their early years can significantly help reduce childhood obesity.
