Effective Non-clinical Interventions to Prevent and Treat Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Newfoundland and Labrador

• Main Authors: Kirk, S., Bornstein, Stephen, Navarro, P., Swanson, E.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research (NLCAHR) 2009
• Subjects: R Medicine (General); Newfoundland; Canada
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/146/; https://research.library.mun.ca/146/1/Effective_Non_clinical_Interventions.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/146/7/Effective_Non_clinical_Interventions_executive_summary.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/146/14/Effective_Non_clinical_Interventions.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/146/15/Effective_Non_clinical_Interventions_executive_summary.pdf; http://www.nlcahr.mun.ca/research/chrsp/reports.php

Newfoundland & Labrador (NL) has the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity for adults and children among the provinces of Canada. Since the 1980’s, childhood overweight has increased by 28% and obesity by 175%. Nearly 80% of middle-school and highschool children in the province do not get enough exercise, and it is estimated that only a quarter of children and adolescents are physically active at all in their spare time. The causes of the current growth in childhood obesity are complex and interrelated. NL exhibits all the major clusters of risk factors for childhood overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity have significant health consequences involving increases in the risk of weight-related diseases. These diseases accounted for $1.6B in direct costs to the Canadian health care system, and $4.3B in indirect costs to the country as a whole. From 1985 to 2000, it is estimated that the number of deaths in NL related to overweight and obesity increased 58.9%. Since a child who becomes overweight or obese is less likely to return to a healthy weight status, childhood obesity presents significant long-term health and economic challenges to the province. A wide and diverse range of prevention and treatment interventions has been developed to address childhood overweight and obesity. The purpose of this synthesis is to summarize the research findings on the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity, with the goal of informing policy and program design. The review is not intended to recommend any specific intervention over any other, or to evaluate existing programs. The findings of this synthesis are intended to provide information that can be used in making decisions about how to develop, implement and modify childhood obesity interventions.