The Amsterdam Healthy Weight Approach: A whole systems approach for tackling child obesity in cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
K den Hertog ◽  
V Busch
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Child Obesity ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Whole Systems

Abstract In search for successful overweight and obesity prevention, extensive research has shown that programs focused on individual behavior change are not effective enough. Many of the underlying determinants of overweight and obesity have social, environmental and economic origins, and extend even beyond the influence of the health sector and public health. This calls for a whole systems approach that covers a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder collaboration, where communities, professionals, government and industry are involved and are all part of the solution. The Amsterdam Healthy Weight Approach (AHWA), initiated in 2012, is a local government led approach that has the objective to encourage healthy weight for children in a healthy environment. With a long-term vision, aimed at lasting change, the AHWA aims at developing interventions, changing policies and educating and informing both professionals and target groups within the communities that are most heavily burdened with the issue of child obesity (and related complex health/wellbeing issues). The strength of the AHWA lies in adopting a whole systems approach (WSA), in which the key is, to collaborate in an integrated, multi-level, multi sectoral way, with a variety of stakeholders from within and outside the field of public health. The aim of the presentation is to inform participants from cities around the globe about the success factors, lessons learned and valuable elements of implementing the AHWA, and to provide tools which they can use in discussing their own approaches and bring these to a higher level of effectiveness

scholarly journals Sheffield-Let's Change4Life: A whole systems approach to tackling overweight and obesity in children, young people and families - a local evaluation report

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Copeland ◽  
Max Moullin ◽  
Lindsey Reece ◽  
Debra Gibson ◽  
David Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Whole Systems ◽  
Obesity In Children

This report presents an independent critical appraisal of ‘Sheffield - Let’s change4life’ (SLC4L) – a whole systems approach to tackling obesity. The report intends to provide commissioners, providers, practitioners, researchers and evaluators of public health interventions with an informed and empirically sound platform upon which to consider the future prevention of obesity in young people, particularly in Sheffield.The report provides the following: A background to the SLC4L Programme. This includes consideration of the national and local political, fiscal and health contexts in which the programme was delivered. A brief outline of the SLC4L Programme and the Healthy Communities Challenge Fund application. An overview of the methods used and the theoretical underpinning of the evaluation. Research findings are presented beginning with the headline outcomes and finishing with the capacity and leadership elements. A comprehensive strand by strand review of interventions and findings is also provided. Recommendations for commissioners, providers and evaluators of public health interventions regarding the determinants of success using whole system approaches in the prevention of overweight and obesity in children, young people and families are made.

scholarly journals Developing a whole systems obesity classification for the UK Biobank Cohort

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Clark ◽  
Mark Birkin ◽  
Nik Lomax ◽  
Michelle Morris
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Whole Systems

The number of people who are obese and overweight presents a global challenge, and the development of effective interventions is hampered by a lack of research which takes in to account a joined up, whole systems approach to understanding the drivers of the phenomena. We need to better understand the collective characteristics and behaviours of the overweight and obese population and how these differ from those who maintain a healthy weight. Using the UK Biobank cohort of 500 000 adults, we develop an obesity classification system using k-means clustering. Variable selection from UK Biobank is informed by the Foresight whole system obesity map across key domains (Societal Influences, Individual Psychology, Individual Physiology, Individual Physical Activity, Physical Activity Environment). This paper presents the first study of UK Biobank participants to adopt this whole systems approach. Our classification identifies six groups of people, similar in respect to their exposure to known drivers of obesity: ‘Younger, active and working hard’, ‘Retirees with good lifestyle’ , ‘Stressed, sedentary and struggling’, Older with poor lifestyle’, ‘Younger, busy professionals’ and ‘Younger, fitter families’. Pen portraits are developed to describe the characteristics of these different groups. Multinomial logistic regression is used to demonstrate that the classification can effectively detect groups of individuals more likely to be overweight or obese. The group identified as ‘Younger, fitter families’ are observed to have a higher proportion of healthy weight, while three groups have increased relative risk of being overweight or obese: ‘Younger, active and working hard’, ‘Stressed, sedentary and struggling’ and ‘Older with poor lifestyles’. This work presents an innovative new approach to better understand the whole systems drivers of obesity which has the potential to produce meaningful tools for policy makers to better target interventions across the whole system to reduce overweight and obesity.

Cases of social innovations implemented in the public health sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1600-1621
Author(s):  
E.V. Molchanova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Demographic Challenges ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Disease Study ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Year

Subject. The article discusses medical and demographic processes in Russia and Finland. Objectives. I evaluate cases of social innovations implemented for the preservation and strengthening of public health in Finland under the auspices of The Global Burden of Disease Study. Methods. Methodologically, the study relies upon the ideology of the GDB Project, which rests on the DALY (the Disability Adjusted Life Year). Results. I analyzed the morbidity and mortality rates, DALY in Russia and Finland, determined what mainly triggers the risk (environmental, behavioral, metabolic) fueling some public health degradation. The article provides the insight into the efficiency of some social innovations implemented in Finland and suggests what should be done to outline medical and demographic programs in Russia. Conclusions and Relevance. The medical and demographic situation in Russia requires new tools to find innovative solutions for the social policy and, inter alia, the use of the GBD technique, which proved to be effective. Referring to evidence from Finland, demographic challenges in Russian can be handled through a systems approach, i.e. socio-economic actions, improvement of the healthcare and social security, wellness propaganda.

scholarly journals Obesity epidemic in urban Tanzania: a public health calamity in an already overwhelmed and fragmented health system

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Pallangyo ◽  
Zabella S. Mkojera ◽  
Naairah R. Hemed ◽  
Happiness J. Swai ◽  
Nsajigwa Misidai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Dar Es Salaam ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smoking History ◽  
Healthy Weight

Abstract Background Worldwide, the epidemiological and demographic transitions have resulted in nutrition shift characterized by an increased consumption of high energy fast food products. In just over 3 decades, overweight and obesity rates have nearly tripled to currently affecting over a third of the global population. Notwithstanding the ever present under-nutrition burden, sub Saharan Africa (SSA) is witnessing a drastic escalation of overweight and obesity. We aimed to explore the prevalence and associated factors for obesity among residents of Dar es Salaam city in Tanzania. Methods Participants from this study were recruited in a community screening conducted during the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered using a structured questionnaire during enrollment. Dietary habits and anthropometric measurements were assessed using standard methods. All statistical analyses utilized STATA v11.0 software. Pearson Chi square and Student’s T-test were used to compare categorical and continuous variables respectively. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess for factors associated with BMI ≥ 25. All tests were 2-sided and p < 0.05 was used to denote a statistical significance. Results A total of 6691 participants were enrolled. The mean age was 43.1 years and males constituted 54.2% of all participants. Over two-thirds of participants were alcohol consumers and 6.9% had a positive smoking history. 88.3% of participants were physically inactive, 4.7% had a history of diabetes mellitus and 18.1% were known to have elevated blood pressure. Overweight and obesity were observed in 34.8 and 32.4% of participants respectively. Among overweight and obese participants, 32.8% had a misperception of having a healthy weight. Age ≥ 40, female gender, a current working status, habitual breakfast skipping, poor water intake, high soft drink consumption, regular fast food intake, low vegetable and fruit consumption, alcohol consumption and hypertension were found to be independent associated factors for obesity. Conclusion Amidst the ever present undernutrition in SSA, a significant proportion of participants had excess body weight. Concomitantly, the rates of physical inactivity and unhealthy eating are disproportionately high in Dar es Salaam. In view of this, community-based and multilevel public health strategies to promote and maintain healthy eating and physical activity require an urgent step-up in urban Tanzania.

scholarly journals Food Security, Environmental Health, and the Economy in Mexico: Lessons Learned with the COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebeca Monroy-Torres PhD ◽  
Erika Carcaño-Valencia ◽  
Marco Hernández-Luna ◽  
Alex Caldera-Ortega ◽  
Alma Serafín- Muñoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
Prevention System ◽  
Climate Change Management ◽  
The Right

In Mexico, it is estimated that due to the economic system the overexploitation of natural resources, environmental impacts and health have been generated, with high rates of overweight and obesity. This review analyzes the impacts on food safety, environmental health, and the economy in Mexico before and during the COVID-19 contingency. Derived from the analysis, among the lessons learned we can include: the health contingency due to COVID-19 had negative repercussions on food security, environmental health and the economy, which require the promotion of public policies (health, environment and economy) and migrate to a health prevention system and an agroecological model, which includes multidisciplinary and intersectoral interventions (government, academia, researchers, civil society organizations, business groups and citizens themselves) to reform and enforce the right to enjoy adequate food and a healthy environment. The contingency due to COVID19 has shown us that this must go from an ideology to being a reality and the lessons learned will have to focus on promoting an innovative and ethical culture of generating an economy, with a gender balance, resilience to climate change, management transparent technology and a priority in health and this will lead to progress in the food security of the population.

scholarly journals Design Requirements for a Teledermatology Scale-up Framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laticha EM Walters ◽  
Richard E Scott ◽  
Maurice Mars
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Expert Opinion ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
Design Requirements

The value proposition of full-scale teledermatology is evidenced in the literature. The public health sector of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province began synchronous teledermatology in 2003, followed by spontaneous asynchronous (mobile) teledermatology in 2013. No scale-up has been formally planned. This paper establishes design requirements that will inform the identification or de novo development of a teledermatology scale-up framework. Methods: A requirements definition process with inductive reasoning approaches was applied. Analysis of semi-structured interviews (19) with key teledermatology stakeholders (17) and observations from two teledermatology programmes, informed by lessons learned from prior teledermatology implementation attempts, eHealth scale-up literature and authors’ expert opinion, led to identification of Themes, and iterative reflection gave rise to Categories and Requirements. Results: Teledermatology scale-up framework design requirements emerged comprised of themes (4), categories (12), and specific design requirements (30). Discussion: This paper describes a process and resulting evidence-based (stakeholder interviews; programme observations; literature) and experience-based (expert opinion) design requirements to inform the identification and adoption / adaptation or de novo development of a teledermatology scale-up framework (TDSF) for KwaZulu-Natal’s public health sector. The proposed approach is recommended as a pre-requisite for scaling, including in other settings and for other telehealth applications.

Comprehensive cancer control-research & development: knowing what we do and doing what we know

2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon F Kerner ◽  
Eduardo Cazap ◽  
Derek Yach ◽  
Marco A Pierotti ◽  
Maria Grazia Daidone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Comprehensive Cancer Control ◽  
The Public ◽  
Control Research

Comprehensive cancer control is defined as an integrated and coordinated approach to reducing cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality across the cancer control continuum from primary prevention to end-of-life care. This approach assumes that when the public sector, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector share with each other their skills, knowledge, and resources, a country can take advantage of all its talents and resources to more quickly reduce the burden of cancer for all its population. One critical issue for comprehensive cancer control is the extent to which the private sector can contribute to cancer prevention and control programs and policies that have historically been lead by the public health sector, and similarly how can the public sector increase its investment and involvement in clinical research and practice issues that are largely driven by the private sector worldwide? In addition, building capacity to integrate research that is appropriate to the culture and context of the population will be important in different settings, in particular research related to cancer control interventions that have the capacity to influence outcomes. To whatever extent cancer control research is ultimately funded through the private and public sectors, if investments in research discoveries are ultimately to benefit the populations that bear the greatest burden of disease, then new approaches to integrating the lessons learned from science with the lessons learned from service (public health, clinical, and public policy) must be found to close the gap between what we know and what we do. Communities of practice for international cancer control, like the ones fostered by the first three International Cancer Control Congresses, represent an important forum for knowledge exchange opportunities to accelerate the translation of new knowledge into action to reduce the burden of cancer worldwide.

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