The longitudinal relationship between community programmes and policies to prevent childhood obesity and BMI in children: the Healthy Communities Study

Abstract

These results indicate that, over time, more intense CPP interventions are related to lower childhood BMI, and that there are disparities in this association by sociodemographic characteristics of families and communities.

Measuring the intensity of community programs and policies for preventing childhood obesity in a diverse sample of US communities: the Healthy Communities Study

“…The CPP intensity scores suggest that the intensity or dose of community efforts has generally grown over time. This is important because the HCS team found average BMI difference of 1.4 kg m −2 ( p value <0.01) between communities with the highest and lowest observed CPP intensity scores , with communities with higher CPP intensity scores having lower BMI averages than communities with lower CPP intensity scores.…”

Community‐level obesity prevention is not associated with dieting behaviours and weight dissatisfaction in children: The Healthy Communities Study

“…By examining potential unintended harms, this paper builds upon prior results reported from the HCS that more intense community efforts to address child obesity were related to lower child BMI 13 . Findings suggest that in communities more intensely engaged in efforts to improve child weight, weight satisfaction was higher (less dissatisfaction and more satisfaction).…”

“…Previously, it has been shown in the national Healthy Communities Study (HCS) that more intense CPPs implemented over 10 years to support healthy eating and physical activity, and prevent obesity were associated with lower child body mass index (BMI); an average BMI difference of −1.4 kg/m 2 was observed between communities with the highest versus lowest intensity of CPPs 13 . The purpose of this paper is to build upon this finding by examining associations between CPP intensity with harmful dieting behaviours and body satisfaction in children in the HCS.…”

Supplement overview: what the Healthy Communities Study is telling us about childhood obesity prevention in U.S. communities

“…The article by Strauss et al complements the initial HCS report that – in general – more is better when it comes to CPPs that target different nutrition and physical activity behaviours. As reported previously by Frongillo et al , a higher number of current and past CPPs targeting distinct behaviours was associated with lower child body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference as measured at the home visit, in a statistically significant, dose–response manner.…”

“…As reported previously by Frongillo et al , a higher number of current and past CPPs targeting distinct behaviours was associated with lower child body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference as measured at the home visit, in a statistically significant, dose–response manner. In this supplement, Strauss et al report relationships of CPP intensity to BMI trajectories over time estimated from the home visit and the historical medical record data . As described by Collie‐Akers et al , the HCS intensity variable was created to reflect (i) the nature of the strategy used, coded as stronger or weaker with respect to expected potential behaviour change impact; (ii) how long the strategy was in place (duration) and (iii) the estimated proportion of children in the catchment area thought to have been exposed to the strategy (reach).…”