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Healthy places. Obesity prevention thru the local built environment
Appetite 87 (2015) 371–403
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Appetite j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p p e t
Abstract
Association for the Study of Obesity, UK Congress on Obesity 2014
Healthy places. Obesity prevention thru the local built environment H. GRAFF a , C. MITCHELL. a UK Health Forum, Fleetbank House, 2–6 Salisbury Sq, London EC4Y 8JX, UK. hannah.graff@ ukhealthforum.org.uk A growing body of evidence demonstrates that the built environment is an important determinant of obesity influencing people’s physical activity, consumption of healthy food, and social interaction. In 2011 the UK Health Forum developed a ground-breaking, evidence-based resource – Healthy Places – that provides tools to local professionals in England for creating healthier communities. Partnerships were established with academic institutions, leading national charities, the Department of Health and Public Health England, to systematically identify regulation and policy that can be used to create healthier communities. Healthy Places was developed as a web-based resource highlighting regulatory options that explain law that is often not fully understood, or, not recognised at all as having a potential impact on obesity in a local area. The resource showcases examples of local action and opportunities to promote active communities and access to healthy food. Continuous monitoring, evaluation and information needs assessment allow the resource to adapt to shifting evidence needs at the local level, and evaluated case studies highlight what local communities are already doing. A summer 2013 needs assessment of public health professionals identified a high interest in obesity, yet an inability to access innovative evidence. The goal of Healthy Places is to provide needed evidence and promote the importance of our built environments on obesity prevention, serving as a model for supporting healthy, sustainable communities. Please visit the resource: http://www.healthyplaces.org.uk. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.102
Visual weight misperceptions; overweight looks like a ‘healthy weight’ M. OLDHAM, E. ROBINSON. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. [email protected] During the last 30 years adiposity has become the norm in many western countries, which may make identifying overweight and obese body weights difficult. Here we examine whether people are capable of visually recognising obesity in young adult males. Participants viewed photographs of males with varying BMIs. They were asked to categorise each male as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese and then asked whether they thought each male should lose weight. Participants (N = 1000) were less accurate when judging the weight status of overweight and obese subjects than when judging healthy weight subjects. Inaccuracies were due to systematic underestimation of weight status. This tendency to underestimate
also increased with weight status, resulting in overweight and obese males being perceived as healthier weight statuses than they actually were. Underestimation of the weight status of the overweight and obese subjects was also associated with participants believing the males did not need to consider losing weight. The majority of participants were poor at visually recognising obesity and tended to underestimate the weight status of overweight and obese men. This may have public health relevance as the identification of adiposity is important in motivating weight management efforts. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.103
Self-help interventions for weight loss in overweight and obese adults. Systematic review and meta-analysis J. HARTMANN-BOYCE, B. FLETCHER, S. JEBB, P. AVEYARD. Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK. [email protected] A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to review the effectiveness of self-help interventions for weight loss in overweight and obese adults, examine which strategies these interventions recommend, and investigate relationships between intervention characteristics and weight change. Randomized controlled trials with follow-up of six months or longer comparing self-help interventions with other self-help interventions or controls were included. Systematic searches were run. Two reviewers extracted data and coded interventions against a taxonomy of self-management strategies for weight loss. Meta-analyses were conducted for weight change at six months using baseline observation carried forward. Searches returned 24 included studies, representing 40 interventions. Pooled results detected a significant effect of fixed programmes (static websites/print) compared with minimal controls (mean difference −2.2 kg, 95% CI −3.5 to −0.8, 2 studies) and of tailored/interactive programmes compared with minimal controls (mean difference −1.8 kg, 95% CI −3.5 to −0.1, 6 studies), though statistical heterogeneity was high in the latter group (I squared = 84%). Pooled data from direct comparisons detected a small but significant effect in favour of tailored/interactive versus fixed programmes (mean difference −0.9 kg, 95% CI −1.5 to −0.4, 7 studies). Most interventions recommended goal setting and self-monitoring, and half promoted some form of support from others (non-professionals). There were insufficient data to statistically evaluate associations between recommended strategies and weight change. In summary, self-help interventions can lead to significant weight change at six months. Evidence from direct comparisons suggests tailored and interactive programmes may be more effective than fixed interventions, but reasons for variation in their results remain largely unknown. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.104
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Appetite j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p p e t
Abstract
Association for the Study of Obesity, UK Congress on Obesity 2014
Healthy places. Obesity prevention thru the local built environment H. GRAFF a , C. MITCHELL. a UK Health Forum, Fleetbank House, 2–6 Salisbury Sq, London EC4Y 8JX, UK. hannah.graff@ ukhealthforum.org.uk A growing body of evidence demonstrates that the built environment is an important determinant of obesity influencing people’s physical activity, consumption of healthy food, and social interaction. In 2011 the UK Health Forum developed a ground-breaking, evidence-based resource – Healthy Places – that provides tools to local professionals in England for creating healthier communities. Partnerships were established with academic institutions, leading national charities, the Department of Health and Public Health England, to systematically identify regulation and policy that can be used to create healthier communities. Healthy Places was developed as a web-based resource highlighting regulatory options that explain law that is often not fully understood, or, not recognised at all as having a potential impact on obesity in a local area. The resource showcases examples of local action and opportunities to promote active communities and access to healthy food. Continuous monitoring, evaluation and information needs assessment allow the resource to adapt to shifting evidence needs at the local level, and evaluated case studies highlight what local communities are already doing. A summer 2013 needs assessment of public health professionals identified a high interest in obesity, yet an inability to access innovative evidence. The goal of Healthy Places is to provide needed evidence and promote the importance of our built environments on obesity prevention, serving as a model for supporting healthy, sustainable communities. Please visit the resource: http://www.healthyplaces.org.uk. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.102
Visual weight misperceptions; overweight looks like a ‘healthy weight’ M. OLDHAM, E. ROBINSON. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. [email protected] During the last 30 years adiposity has become the norm in many western countries, which may make identifying overweight and obese body weights difficult. Here we examine whether people are capable of visually recognising obesity in young adult males. Participants viewed photographs of males with varying BMIs. They were asked to categorise each male as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese and then asked whether they thought each male should lose weight. Participants (N = 1000) were less accurate when judging the weight status of overweight and obese subjects than when judging healthy weight subjects. Inaccuracies were due to systematic underestimation of weight status. This tendency to underestimate
also increased with weight status, resulting in overweight and obese males being perceived as healthier weight statuses than they actually were. Underestimation of the weight status of the overweight and obese subjects was also associated with participants believing the males did not need to consider losing weight. The majority of participants were poor at visually recognising obesity and tended to underestimate the weight status of overweight and obese men. This may have public health relevance as the identification of adiposity is important in motivating weight management efforts. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.103
Self-help interventions for weight loss in overweight and obese adults. Systematic review and meta-analysis J. HARTMANN-BOYCE, B. FLETCHER, S. JEBB, P. AVEYARD. Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK. [email protected] A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to review the effectiveness of self-help interventions for weight loss in overweight and obese adults, examine which strategies these interventions recommend, and investigate relationships between intervention characteristics and weight change. Randomized controlled trials with follow-up of six months or longer comparing self-help interventions with other self-help interventions or controls were included. Systematic searches were run. Two reviewers extracted data and coded interventions against a taxonomy of self-management strategies for weight loss. Meta-analyses were conducted for weight change at six months using baseline observation carried forward. Searches returned 24 included studies, representing 40 interventions. Pooled results detected a significant effect of fixed programmes (static websites/print) compared with minimal controls (mean difference −2.2 kg, 95% CI −3.5 to −0.8, 2 studies) and of tailored/interactive programmes compared with minimal controls (mean difference −1.8 kg, 95% CI −3.5 to −0.1, 6 studies), though statistical heterogeneity was high in the latter group (I squared = 84%). Pooled data from direct comparisons detected a small but significant effect in favour of tailored/interactive versus fixed programmes (mean difference −0.9 kg, 95% CI −1.5 to −0.4, 7 studies). Most interventions recommended goal setting and self-monitoring, and half promoted some form of support from others (non-professionals). There were insufficient data to statistically evaluate associations between recommended strategies and weight change. In summary, self-help interventions can lead to significant weight change at six months. Evidence from direct comparisons suggests tailored and interactive programmes may be more effective than fixed interventions, but reasons for variation in their results remain largely unknown. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.104