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A study published online suggests that spending cuts on Sure Start in the UK have been linked to the obesity of thousands more people, ages 4-5, over the past decade. I’m going. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ..

The reduction will affect 4575 obese children or 9174 overweight / obese children between 2010/11 and 2017/18 than would have been expected if the funding of the center had remained the same. Researchers appreciate.

In the poorest areas, hardest hit by these cuts, the effect is likely to widen the “obesity gap” between the richest and poorest children.

The Sure Start Children’s Center provides community services to children under the age of 5 and their parents, including many services that help maintain a healthy weight by supporting good nutrition and physical activity. ..

When the SureStart program was launched in 1999, the center’s clear goal was to prevent obesity and reduce health inequalities.

However, since 2010 the austerity measures taken by local governments have significantly reduced funding for these centers, which has resulted in the closure and / or reduction of the range of services.

Therefore, the researchers wanted to know if the prevalence of obesity in children was higher than expected in the UK, where the reduction was greatest.

You receive publicly available municipal data on the prevalence of obesity in admitting children (4-5 years) annually from the National Child Monitoring Program and annually from the Ministry of Education from 2010/2011 to 2017. We have data on municipal government spending on published childcare. Including 2018.

To assess whether the relationship between spending cuts and obesity prevalence depends on the degree of deprivation of local governments, the researchers looked at the average spend score and multiple deprivation in 2015.

To assess trends in obesity prevalence before scarce resources were deployed in 2010, researchers invested in childcare and obesity prevalence from 2007/2008 to 2010/2011. We examined the average annual change in rates.

According to data analysis, spending on the Sure Start Children’s Center decreased an average of 53% between November 2010 and 2018/18, which significantly reduced less fortunate local governments.

Local government spending by the least disadvantaged fifth decreased by £ 422 per child between 2010 and 2016, compared to a decrease of £ 133 per child for the least disadvantaged fifth. Have.

A 10% reduction in spending per fiscal year was associated with a relative increase in obesity prevalence of 0.34% for the next school year.

This corresponds to 4575 obese children or 9174 overweight / obese children. The researchers estimate more than would be expected if the funding remained the same.

The association between community spending and obesity was stronger in areas where obesity prevalence declined until 2010/2011.

“Our results suggest that cuts in community spending on children’s centers since 2010 have been accompanied by increasing obesity among children, some of which were made before austerity was introduced. Seems to have reversed the interests of the researchers, ”said the researchers.

“Our finding that spending cuts were more effective in areas where obesity prevalence declined before austerity was implemented, was that stopping investment in Sure Start would reduce childhood obesity prevalence. It suggests it could undermine strategic progress on key objectives, ”they added.

“The UK government has set itself the goal of significantly narrowing the obesity gap between the most disadvantaged and the most disadvantaged children by 2030, but that gap spans all ages and genders. It will be expanded further, ”they emphasize.

“If funding for these services cannot be restored in anticipation of a period of increased financial pressure on local governments due to a pandemic, infant obesity can rise and inequality can extend beyond initial and widespread use. There is more, ”they conclude.

In a linked editorial, Professor Tim Whitz of the Center for Education and Labor Market Research at Maastricht University in the Netherlands points out that the results correspond to a relative increase in obesity during the study.

“This relative increase may seem modest, but in absolute terms the number of children affected is significant and, given the long-term effects of obesity, the consequences are potentially life-threatening. It can change, ”he wrote.

“This pandemic can further exacerbate and thus exacerbate social and geographical inequality in the social determinants of health. Obesity, especially children I live in the most deprived area. ”

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For more informations:
Impact of local government spending cuts on the SureStart Children’s Center for Childhood Obesity in the UK: Longitudinal Ecological Study, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, DOI: 10.1136 / jech-2020-216064

Comment: Examining the impact of local spending cuts on childhood obesity in Sure Start Children’s Centers: Comment, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, DOI: 10.1136 / jech-2021-217190

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British Medical Journal

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