Preventing Childhood Obesity in Primary Schools: A Realist Review from UK Perspective

Methods used to conceptualize dimensions of health equity impacts of public health interventions in systematic reviews

OBJECTIVES

Our aims were to, first, identify and summarize the use of methods, frameworks, and tools as a conceptual basis for investigating dimensions of equity impacts of public health interventions in systematic reviews including an equity focus. These include PROGRESS-Plus, which identifies key sociodemographic characteristics that determine health outcomes. Second, we aimed to document challenges and opportunities encountered in the application of such methods, as reported in systematic reviews.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

We conducted a methodological study, comprising an overview of systematic reviews with a focus on, or that aimed to assess, the equity impacts of public health interventions. We used electronic searches of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER), and the Finding Accessible Inequalities Research in Public Health Database, supplemented with automated searches of the OpenAlex dataset. An active learning algorithm was used to prioritize title-abstract records for manual screening against eligibility criteria. We extracted and analyzed a core dataset from a purposively selected sample of reviews, to summarize key characteristics and approaches to conceptualizing investigations of equity.

RESULTS

We assessed 322 full-text reports for eligibility, from which we included 120 reports of systematic reviews. PROGRESS-Plus was the only formalized framework used to conceptualize dimensions of equity impacts. Most reviews were able to apply their intended methods to at least some degree. Where intended methods were unable to be applied fully, this was usually because primary research studies did not report the necessary information. A general rationale for focusing on equity impacts was often included, but few reviews explicitly justified their focus on (or exclusion of) specific dimensions. In addition to practical challenges such as data not being available, authors highlighted significant measurement and conceptual issues with applying these methods which may impair the ability to investigate and interpret differential impacts within and between studies. These issues included investigating constructs that lack standardized operationalization and measurement, and the complex nature of differential impacts, with dimensions that may interact with one another, as well as with particular temporal, personal, social or geographic contexts.

CONCLUSION

PROGRESS-Plus is the predominant framework used in systematic reviews to conceptualize differential impacts of public health interventions by dimensions of equity. It appears sufficiently broad to encompass dimensions of equity examined in most investigations of this kind. However, PROGRESS-Plus does not necessarily ensure or guide critical thinking about more complex pathways, including interactions between dimensions of equity, and with wider contextual factors, and important practical, measurement and conceptual challenges remain. The findings from investigations of equity impacts in systematic reviews could be made more useful through more explicitly rationalized and considered approaches to the design, conduct and reporting of both primary research and the reviews themselves.

Childhood Obesity: Position Statement of Polish Society of Pediatrics, Polish Society for Pediatric Obesity, Polish Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, the College of Family Physicians in Poland and Polish Association for Study on Obesity

Childhood obesity is one of the most important problems of public health. Searching was conducted by using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, MEDLINE, and EBSCO databases, from January 2022 to June 2022, for English language meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, and observational studies from all over the world. Five main topics were defined in a consensus join statement of the Polish Society of Pediatrics, Polish Society for Pediatric Obesity, Polish Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and Polish Association for the Study on Obesity: (1) definition, causes, consequences of obesity; (2) treatment of obesity; (3) obesity prevention; (4) the role of primary care in the prevention of obesity; (5) Recommendations for general practitioners, parents, teachers, and regional authorities. The statement outlines the role of diet, physical activity in the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, and gives appropriate recommendations for interventions by schools, parents, and primary health care. A multisite approach to weight control in children is recommended, taking into account the age, the severity of obesity, and the presence of obesity-related diseases. Combined interventions consisting of dietary modification, physical activity, behavioral therapy, and education are effective in improving metabolic and anthropometric indices. More actions are needed to strengthen the role of primary care in the effective prevention and treatment of obesity because a comprehensive, multi-component intervention appears to yield the best results.

The causal impact of childhood obesity on bone mineral density and fracture in adulthood: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Observational studies have indicated the associations between obesity with bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture but yield inconsistent results. The impact of childhood obesity on bone health in adulthood is even less clear. The present study adopted the Mendelian randomization methods to determine whether the genetically predicted childhood obesity was causally associated with BMD and the risk of fracture. Genetic variants were extracted from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify childhood obesity loci [IEU open GWAS project: childhood obesity (ID: ieu-a-1096)] and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables to investigate causality. We used two-sample univariable Mendelian randomization (MR) to estimate causal relationships between childhood obesity on BMD and fracture subtypes based on SNPs from European samples. To avoid bias, Cochran's Q test and leave-one-out variant analysis were performed. The MR analysis shows strong evidence that childhood obesity is causally associated with eBMD (OR 1.068, 95% CI 1.043–1.095, P < 0.001) and a weak decreased risk of leg fracture (OR 0.9990, 95% CI 0.9981–0.9999, P =0.033) based on the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method. After adjusting for diabetes and adult obesity, the results of eBMD remained the same. The MR analysis revealed sufficient evidence to indicate childhood obesity was causally associated with increased BMD and decreased risk of leg fracture in adults. Childhood obesity could be taken into consideration when assessing eBMD.

The Impact of Obesity on the Fitness Performance of School-Aged Children Living in Rural Areas-The West Attica Project

This study aimed to investigate the relationship of body mass index (BMI) with muscle and cardiorespiratory fitness in children living within rural areas (regional unit of West Attica) in Greece. Participants included 399 students (187 boys, 212 girls), ages 8-12 years old, and were evaluated in physical performance tests. The point prevalence of overweight and obesity was 21.39% and 26.20% in boys, and 19.90% and 23.79% in girls. Significant differences were observed in all physical performance tests (handgrip, long jump, shuttle run, trunk flexors, and extensors endurance) between normal weight and obese participants. BMI was positively correlated with handgrip (r = 0.442-0.462, p < 0.001). There was a negative association with long jump (r = -0.206, p < 0.001), 20 m shuttle run (r = -0.394, p < 0.001), trunk flexors (r = -0.403, p < 0.001) and trunk extensors endurance (r = -0.280, p < 0.001). The regression analysis showed that 20-30% of the overall variation for physical performance assessments could be accounted for by BMI, age, and sex. With the exception of the long jump and the endurance of the trunk extensors, BMI alone may explain more than 10% of the outcome of most tests. This study highlights the determinant of BMI on muscle and cardiorespiratory fitness. The management of obesity should begin early in childhood to prevent adult chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for treatment of overweight/obesity among children in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Pediatric obesity has become a global public health problem. China has the largest population of obese children in the world. It is important to develop effective interventions to control child obesity. This systematic review summarizes proof from randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy of lifestyle intervention to reduce BMI and metabolic risk factors for overweight/obese Chinese children.

METHODS

We searched studies from five databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and CNKI). Research that meets the following requirements was included: randomized controlled trials, participants are overweight/obese Chinese children aged <18 years old, and the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions is evaluated.

RESULTS

Eight randomized controlled trials were included. A significant difference was found between the intervention group and the control group for the BMI changes (mean difference = -1.49; 95% CI: -2.20 to -0.77; p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses consistently demonstrated that effects of lifestyle interventions on BMI change including multiple-component interventions (mean difference = -2.03 kg/m²; 95% CI: -3.62 to -0.43; p < 0.001) were stronger than those only with physical activities or health education; effects of lifestyle interventions on BMI change were also strengthened if duration of intervention last for more than 1 year (mean difference = -3.03 kg/m²; 95% CI: -4.00 to -2.06; p = 0.01) or with age during 12-18 years old (mean difference = -1.90 kg/m²; 95% CI: -3.37 to -0.43; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing BMI in Chinese children with overweight/obesity, and the effectiveness is more profound when the lifestyle intervention includes multiple components, lasts longer than one year, and/or is conducted among teens. These findings provide an important evidence base for developing and implementing potentially effective lifestyle interventions for the treatment of overweight/obesity among Chinese children.