Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Liverpool between 2006 and 2012: Evidence of Widening Socioeconomic Inequalities

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Liverpool between 2006 and 2012. A secondary aim was to examine the extent to which socioeconomic inequalities relating to childhood overweight and obesity in Liverpool changed during this six-year period. A sample of 50,125 children was created using data from the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP) in Liverpool. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was calculated for Reception and Year 6 aged children in Liverpool for each time period by gender and compared against published averages for England. Logistic regression analyses examined the likelihood of children in Liverpool being classified as overweight and obese based on deprivation level for each time period. Analyses were conducted separately for Reception and Year 6 aged children and were adjusted for gender. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Reception and Year 6 aged children in Liverpool increased between 2006 and 2012. During the same period, socioeconomic disparities in overweight and obesity prevalence between children living in the most deprived communities in Liverpool and those living in less deprived communities in Liverpool, widened. This study evidences rising rates of overweight and obesity among Liverpool children and widening socioeconomic health inequalities within Liverpool, England’s most deprived city between 2006 and 2012.

Family Income Gradients in Adolescent Obesity, Overweight and Adiposity Persist in Extremely Deprived and Extremely Affluent Neighbourhoods but Not in Middle-Class Neighbourhoods: Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

“…The prevalence of obesity and overweight linearly increased from 4% and 21% among the adolescents living in communities in the least deprived quintile to 11% and 33% among those living the most deprived communities. Although several recent studies show virtual stability or moderate declines in the trends of childhood obesity in England, the gains appear to disproportionately benefit wealthy people and wealthy communities than the poorest ones [4,19,34].…”

“…In contrast, in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), affluence is positively related to obesity [18]. Although recent literature suggests the prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK within the past decade is levelling-off, albeit high, there is substantive evidence to suggest that this levelling-off is absent in areas with the highest geographic-level deprivation [4,19]. Geographic-level deprivation in this paper is defined as the relative level of impoverishment of a neighbourhood or a geographic area measured by infrastructure, health services, job opportunities, crime, etc.…”

‘Eating to survive’: A qualitative analysis of factors influencing food choice and eating behaviour in a food-insecure population

“…Recent research conducted in Liverpool indicates that children living in more deprived communities had higher levels of obesity than children from less deprived communities, and this socio-economic disparity widened between 2006 and 2012 [28].…”

In Utero One‐Carbon Metabolism Interplay and Metabolic Syndrome in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction

“…Importantly, the rise in obesity among children has brought attention to the involvement of prenatal lifestyle and nutritional choices. [2] Indeed, one of the most important contributions to research on disease prevention has been what is now known as "Barker's Hypothesis," in which poor prenatal environment was linked to low birth weight and increased postnatal health complications. [3,4] Of interest, maternal nutrition, before and during pregnancy, is considered an important origin of health complications such as metabolic syndrome (MeS) in a child's later life due to early genetic changes that permanently influence biological traits long after the inductive events have occurred.…”

“…Importantly, the rise in obesity among children has brought attention to the involvement of prenatal lifestyle and nutritional choices . Indeed, one of the most important contributions to research on disease prevention has been what is now known as “Barker's Hypothesis,” in which poor prenatal environment was linked to low birth weight and increased postnatal health complications .…”