A systematic review on tackling obesity in children through effective interventions in primary school-based settings in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern world-wide and in the UK. The long-term effects of obesity are dangerous when not addressed and this includes diabetes, chronic heart diseases, lower quality of life and many more. Interventions have been developed to aid in tackling childhood obesity in primary school-based settings, as children tend to spend the majority of their awake time in schools. This systematic review aimed to identify interventions that effectively tackle childhood obesity in primary schools and evaluate the quality of the evidence provided. 

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in 2024 using EBSCO Medline, CINAHL and grey literature from Google Scholar. A search strategy was developed using the PICO framework as recommended for quantitative studies. The inclusion criteria included studies in the UK published between the year 2014 to 2024, and interventions with outcome measures aimed at tackling childhood obesity, such as a healthy body mass index, waist circumference, increased levels of physical activity, and a healthy lifestyle. The review included children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old. 

Results: The systematic review included a total of eight studies that met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that five of these interventions were effective in tackling childhood obesity in primary schools. The results also addressed the limitations of the studies and reasons for the ineffectiveness of the other studies. The results showed that various intervention methods, when combined, effectively tackle childhood obesity such as walking, healthy eating in school and nutritional education. 

Conclusion: This systematic review provided information on possible effective interventions to tackle childhood obesity in primary schools in the UK. The review identified the limitations of the studies and provided some recommendations to aid in filling the gap in this research.