Childhood obesity insight
Using research to help professionals and stakeholders understand what factors influence changes in weight in primary school children and want needs to change to reverse child obesity.
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The mission
Supporting parents/guardians of children identified as overweight or obese
While childhood obesity increases the risk of long term negative physical and mental health outcomes, there is little support for parents/guardians of children identified as overweight or obese through the national child measurement programme. To help inform the development of a comprehensive support package, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) Public Health Team commissioned Social Change to undertake insight research to understand attitudes, behaviours and experiences in relation to healthy weight in childhood.
The research
Understanding eating habits and physical activity
We engaged with parents/guardians on children aged 5 – 18 through an online survey and telephone interviews. We sought to understand attitudes, behaviours and experiences in relation to healthy weight management not only for the parents/guardians, but also their children. This included capturing information about physical activity and eating habits, and how family and wider life (e.g., school and the COVID-19 pandemic) influenced this. The research aimed to identify behavioural insights to communicate the motivations and barriers towards healthy weight management, and what support would better help people take positive steps towards this.
The impact
From the behavioural insights we were able to make actionable recommendations to support the BCUHB Public Health Team to encourage positive behaviour change and achieve their goal of increased health outcomes and reduced rates of obesity and being overweight in childhood. Just some of the areas addressed included:
• Changes to local infrastructure
• Tips, advice and recipes to support healthy eating habits
• Support in purchasing healthier foods
• Targeting and engaging parents/ guardians with interventions
210
parents surveyed
15
parents interviewed
43
insights
40
actionable recommendations
