Helping to understand and tackle childhood obesity.

Insight to tackle childhood obesity.

We worked with Knowsley Council to uncover insight and help professionals and stakeholders understand what factors influence changes in weight in primary school children and the steps and system change needed to reverse childhood obesity. 

What we did:
  • Research and Insight
  • Community Engagement
A young boy sits on the grass wearing a blue backpack, holding two bananas in one hand and eating the nectarine in his other hand.
An infographic video reporting the main impact findings for a project in Knowsley.

The mission.

Weight changes in primary school children.

Knowsley has a higher than average childhood obesity rate and there is a drive locally to bring this rate down - fast. Knowsley Council commissioned Social Change UK to conduct research and insight and to work with professionals and stakeholders to understand what factors influence changes in weight in primary school aged children and what can be done to reverse a worrying trend. This work has supported current and future decisions on how to support children, parents/carers, and schools and how to design and deliver a whole systems change in Knowsley that prevents obesity in children.

A mock up of the Knowsley report page spreads, displaying the Introduction and Key Audience pages.

The research.

A mixed methodology

Initial scoping of local and national level data was undertaken to understand the issue of childhood obesity and to inform the overall research strategy.

A mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used to engage with our key audience groups. We captured the views of primary school teaching staff via an online survey and we held workshops with children aged 8 – 11 in school and youth settings. We used a range of methods to engage parents and carers, including a focus group, an online survey and telephone interviews.

A mock up of the page spreads from the Knowsley project report.
A mock up of the page spreads from the Knowsley project report.

The impact.

This research provided a range of insights and actionable recommendations for Knowsley Council, including:

20+ recommendations for change
50+ teachers engaged locally
50+ families interviewed/ surveyed

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