This presentation for the LGA and ADPH Conference on 3rd February provides a brief overview of the work in Hertfordshire on Child Obesity, as part of a wider and developing whole systems approach

1. www.hertsdirect.org
A Locality approach to Childhood
Obesity: Hertfordshire
Prof Jim McManus
Director of Public Health
With material from Piers Simey, Linda Mercy, David Conrad, Sue
Beck, Irtiza Qureshi
Jim.mcmanus@hertfordshire.gov.uk
LGA/ADPH Conference, 3rd
February 2016

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Funding
• 2012 – PCT total Child Obesity budget £20,000 (yes £20k) (not
including NCMP)
• 2015
• Child Healthy Weight – £499k (Excluding NCMP)
• Beat the Streets £100k
• School Nurses £4.02m
• PH funding to School Catering £100k
• Full time nutritionist in School Catering £60k
• Cycling Training and Support in Schools £60k
• Planning and Environment workstreams
• Major physical activity programmes
• Disabled Access to physical Activity £250k
• Two district councils with major focus on Child Obesity and Stevenage
• Share of £1m District Council Partnership Funding

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The Case for Change
Health needs assessment:
Generally better than national average
However

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Trying to build a
whole system
approach
Schools need to
Have a duty, not
just an incentive, to
collaborate and
work with us

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What future?
• Study carefully the forthcoming Child Obesity
Strategy
• Identify what can be done locally with reducing
budgets
• Hope that national measures are taken
• Continue whole system approach
• Build more into planning, regulatory and
sustainable transport work programmes
• Food and activity cultures work

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Key principles
• Systems approaches
• Proportionate Universalism and targetting of most
affected areas
• The 6 Levels of public health – societal to
individual
• You don’t do a whole system approach to child
obesity with just kids
BUT A WHOLE SYSTEM APPROACH NEEDS
NATIONAL ACTION TOO!

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Obesity Levels in Hertfordshire
–around one in five adults (22.0%:
2012-14)
–14.5% of children aged 10-11
(2014/15)
–7.3% of children of reception age
(2014/15)

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Young people & families: broad & targeted support
• Whole school healthy eating
• 40 primaries – Good Food Club
• 40 families in Cookery Clubs
• BeeZee Bodies (aged 5-15):
• 17 weeks; 80% completion rates
• A third of families deprived
• 398 children & families so far
• High satisfaction levels
• Meaningful lifestyle changes &
weight management

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Adult weight management schemes
• 10,359 residents referred to the
programme so far:
• free access to one course
• for people who are obese
• Evaluation: (5,000+ people)
• 62% completed the 12 week
programme – above national
standards
• ⅔ completers lose 5%+ of body
weight – a significant benefit to
their health

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Men’s Weight Management
• “Shape Up” with Watford FC
– Male focused, to increase
uptake, following evidence
– Good results –
• 3361 donuts “lost” by first cohort
• 206 men started, ¾ complete
• Half of completers benefit
significantly
– Potential for external funding

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Healthy Workplaces
• 56 businesses engaged (more than 50
employees in each)
• Broad focus
– 248 Workplace health champions
– 690 recipients of Mental Health First Aid
Training (lite & full training)
• Lifestyle focus
– Linking to available services/opportunities
• Next steps:
– Consolidate & extend into new businesses
– Working with smaller businesses
– Engaging key local partners over funding

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Good quality green space
that residents want to use
So many
benefits!

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Our proposed Indicators for monitoring
progress
1. Trends in % overweight children aged 4-5
and 10-11, by District/Borough
– Change from looking at small areas, with small
sample sizes
1. Trends in % adults overweight, by
District/Borough
– RETAIN
1. Trends in % adults who are inactive
– Change from % meeting national
recommendations, focus on greatest benefits

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Good Food Club
• a programme that aims to inspire families to
cook from fresh ingredients and try new
foods
• The course is delivered by Hertfordshire
Catering Limited and run by a team of specialist
chefs.

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Innovation with Herts
Catering Limited
• Good food club in
20 schools linked
to Moshi Monsters:
actions = rewards
• Adapting school
menus
• Cookery school for
children & parents
• ALSO: Beezee
Bodies targeted
family approach for
overweight
children & parents

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Kingsway Infant and Junior School,
Watford
• Lizzie, aged 10, took part with her grandmother
Dawn : “I really enjoyed this time cooking
healthy food with grandma and I’m now feeling
really happy about cooking more.”
• Kelly, took part in the scheme with her six-year-
old son Luca: “I enjoyed learning how to hide
fruit and vegetables in the recipes to make them
healthier!”

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School Nurse Service
A named school nurse for every school; Who is
visible; Who provides a bridge between schools
and health services; Who promotes the health
and wellbeing and supports the health needs of
children and young people in Hertfordshire
schools

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Key Principles
• The service will be accessible to young people, parents and
professionals
• The service’s purpose will be communicated and understood
by young people, parents and professionals
• The service will ensure that stakeholders’ priority areas are
reflected in service delivery
• The service will have clear and robustly embedded
responsibilities in regard to the role of the school nurse
• The service will be responsive and adaptive to the needs of
young people their changing usage of technology and
communications methods

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Future School Nurse Service

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Thank you
• Jim.mcmanus@hertfordshire.gov.uk