Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T18:49:57.517Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is overweight and obesity in 9–10-year-old children in Liverpool related to deprivation and/or electoral ward when based on school attended?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Trevor JB Dummer ,
Mark A Gibbon ,
Allan F Hackett ,
Gareth Stratton  and
Sue RTaylor
Trevor JB Dummer
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, Henry Cotton Campus, Liverpool, UK
Mark A Gibbon
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, IM Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK
Allan F Hackett*
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, IM Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK
Gareth Stratton
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, Henry Cotton Campus, Liverpool, UK
Sue RTaylor
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, IM Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objectives

To determine whether weight problems in children (overweight, obesity and overweight or obesity) were related to deprivation indices when attributed only according to electoral ward of the school attended. To determine whether children with weight problems were more likely to be found in some wards rather than others, and to compare the distribution for boys and girls.

Design

Retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study.

Setting

One hundred and six primary schools from all parts of Liverpool city.

Subjects

Five cohorts of 9–10-year-old children between 1998 and 2003.

Main outcome measures

Body mass index (BMI) for each child to estimate proportions overweight, obese and overweight or obese according to international criteria.

Results

Between January 1998 and March 2003, the heights and weights of 7902 boys and 7514 girls were measured and BMI calculated. The prevalence of boys and girls categorised as overweight or obese was very high (1620, 20.6% and 1909, 25.7%, respectively). Prevalence was not related to deprivation and varied between wards only for the girls; some wards had very different prevalence rates for boys and girls (Picton: 59 boys, 23.4%; 106 girls, 36.6%). The most deprived ward did not have a remarkable prevalence of overweight or obesity (Speke: 32 boys, 15.3%; 40 girls, 19.8%).

Conclusions

Obesity is a major problem and requires urgent action but targeting intervention on the basis of administrative areas may be very wasteful. Different factors seem to lead to obesity in boys and girls, and attention should be paid to the role of the physical environment.

Keywords

ObesityChildrenDeprivationMap
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 6 , September 2005 , pp. 636 - 641
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

References

1Department of Health. Health Survey for England 2002: Latest Trends. London: The Stationery Office, 2003.Google Scholar
2Drenowski, A, Spencer, SE. Poverty and obesity: the role of energy density and energy costs. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004; 79: 6–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Department of Health. Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease. London: HMSO, 1994.Google Scholar
4Pate, RR, Long, BJ, Heath, G. Descriptive epidemiology of physical activity in adolescents. Pediatric Exercise Science 1994; 6: 434–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Department of Health. The Health of the Nation. LondonHMSO, 1992.Google Scholar
6Department of Health. Our Healthier Nation: Saving Lives. London: HMSO, 1999.Google Scholar
7House of Commons Health Committee. Third Report of Session 2003–04. Obesity, Vol. 1, London: The Stationery Office, 2004.Google Scholar
8 International Obesity Task Force and the European Association for the Study of Obesity in Children. IOTF Obesity in Europe Childhood Section – Appendix 1. IOTF collated data for children aged around 10 years [online], 2004. Available at www.iotf.org/childhood/euappendix.htm. Accessed 14 06 2004.Google Scholar
9Ruston, D, Hoare, J, Henderson, L, Gregory, J, Bates, CJ, Prentice, A, et al. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Adults aged 19 to 64 Years. London: The Stationery Office, 2004.Google Scholar
10Gregory, J, Lowe, S, Bates, CJ, Prentice, A, Jackson, LV, Smithers, G, et al. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Young People aged 4 to 18 Years. Vol. 1. Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: The Stationery Office, 2000.Google Scholar
11Olsen, SF, Martuzzi, M, Elliot, P. Cluster analysis and disease mapping – why, when and how? A step by step guide. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 863–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Wright, CM, Parker, L, Lamont, D, Craft, AW. Implications of childhood obesity for adult health: findings from thousand families cohort study. British Medical Journal 2001; 323: 1280–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Kinra, S, Nelder, RP, Lewendon, GJ. Deprivation and childhood obesity: a cross-sectional study of 20,973 children in Plymouth. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2000; 54: 456–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Taylor, S, Hackett, A, Stratton, G, Lamb, L. SportsLinx: improving the health and fitness of Liverpool's youth. Education & Health 2004; 22: 3–7.Google Scholar
15Cole, TJ, Bellizi, MC, Flegal, KM, Dietz, WH. Establishing a standard definition for childhood overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. British Medical Journal 2000; 320: 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [homepage]. Indices of Deprivation 2000. Available at www.odpm.gov.uk. Accessed 9 06 2004.Google Scholar
17Bellizzi, MC, Deitz, WH. Workshop on childhood obesity: summary of the discussion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 70: 173S–5S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Zimmerman, MB, Gubeli, C, Puntener, C, Molinari, L. Detection of overweight and obesity in a national sample of 6–12-y-old Swiss children: accuracy and validity of reference values for body mass index from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the International Obesity Task Force. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004; 79: 838–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar