Agenda item

Report CS18178

The Board considered a report providing an update on the current position on childhood obesity in Bromley and outlining the different programmes and initiatives in place to target the problem.

The level of childhood obesity in Bromley was one of the lowest in London; however it had been identified by the National Childhood Measurement Programme that the percentage of children in Bromley schools who were obese doubled between the first and last year of primary education.  A number of initiatives were in place to support Bromley children to maintain a healthy weight including the promotion of breastfeeding, the Healthy Schools London Scheme, Bromley School Games and the Daily Mile.  Families of Bromley children assessed as being outside the healthy weight range were signposted to Change4life online NHS resources to support them to make healthy changes to their lifestyles, and severely obese children were offered an appointment with a children’s dietician and could access drop-in dietetic clinics for further advice and weight checks.  A new regional awards scheme, ‘Healthy Early Years London’ had recently been launched to support and recognise achievements in child health, wellbeing and education in Early Years settings, and 110 Early Years settings in Bromley had already registered for the scheme. 

In considering the update, the Chairman highlighted that an holistic approach should be taken to addressing childhood obesity and that more could be done to embed positive schemes such as the Daily Mile in schools as well as to develop ways in which measures to improve the health of children and young people could be carried forward to their family and friends.

A Member noted work by Bromley’s Road Safety Unit to promoted active travel and asked how this had impacted car usage by families and whether there were safety implications to increasing cycling by children and young people.  The Children and Young People Programme Lead, Public Health confirmed that families were supported to make informed decisions about how they travelled and that there was a high uptake of the ‘Bikeability’ cycling safety scheme by schools which trained children to be confident cyclists.  Another Member observed the importance of partners delivering a coordinated response to childhood obesity and not duplicating provision.  In response to a question from a Member, the Children and Young People Programme Lead, Public Health outlined a range of healthy and active lifestyle activities that were accessible outside the school environment including cooking sessions and physical activities, a number of which were targeted towards areas of deprivation.  Further information on work to promote active travel by Bromley’s Road Safety Unit and schools would be provided to Board Members following the meeting.

A Member queried how the healthy lifestyle needs of hard-to-reach groups were being identified.  The Children and Young People Programme Lead, Public Health reported that a range of work was undertaken with different groups across the Borough, including young carers.  Work was also underway to build relationships with the gypsy traveller community that would include a health and wellbeing focus.  The Local Authority was identifying examples of best practice in engaging hard-to-reach groups with positive lifestyles programmes in other local authorities with the aim of replicating this success in Bromley.  A Board Member highlighted the need to include health services in work to target childhood obesity.  The Children and Young People Programme Lead, Public Health confirmed that Public Health worked closely with Primary Care services, including General Practitioners to communicate the findings of the National Childhood Measurement Programme.  A Board Member emphasised the value of preventative and early intervention work in reducing escalation of need.

The Chairman reported that Mr Ashish Desai, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust would be invited to attend the next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board on 28^th November 2018, to explore the issue of childhood obesity with the Board.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.