On Shape and Being Shaped; The relation between overweight and obesity in London's schoolchildren and the energy-expending characteristics of their bu
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
Since the '80s, global prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity (COO) increased sharply. Due to its epidemic proportions and long-term
impacts on health and wellbeing of children, the WHO considers tackling obesity to be one of the most serious public health challenges of our century.
Despite the plethora of multilevel COO research, its relation with characteristics of the built environment inciting energy expenditure is still insufficiently
understood. With an innovative approach - a sequential explanatory mixed methods design - I want to research this complex interplay between place
and COO in a PhD project. In a first, quantitative sequence, piloted during my MPhil, a spatial epidemiological study will be carried out. Relying on GIS
and statistical methods, general trends in the relation between COO in London schoolchildren and the characteristics of their (school) neighbourhoods
and commuting routes that foster/hinder physical activity will be searched. This is followed by a qualitative research, producing contextual and
complementary information on these trends. Go-along interviews, NVivo, accelerometers and Qualitative GIS will be applied to hear and analyse the
children's narratives and to explore their physical movements as they unfold in real time and space. In the final, integrative phase, the quantitative
findings will be expanded with the qualitative ones, aiming to produce knowledge that can serve public health policies and interventions to tackle COO.
impacts on health and wellbeing of children, the WHO considers tackling obesity to be one of the most serious public health challenges of our century.
Despite the plethora of multilevel COO research, its relation with characteristics of the built environment inciting energy expenditure is still insufficiently
understood. With an innovative approach - a sequential explanatory mixed methods design - I want to research this complex interplay between place
and COO in a PhD project. In a first, quantitative sequence, piloted during my MPhil, a spatial epidemiological study will be carried out. Relying on GIS
and statistical methods, general trends in the relation between COO in London schoolchildren and the characteristics of their (school) neighbourhoods
and commuting routes that foster/hinder physical activity will be searched. This is followed by a qualitative research, producing contextual and
complementary information on these trends. Go-along interviews, NVivo, accelerometers and Qualitative GIS will be applied to hear and analyse the
children's narratives and to explore their physical movements as they unfold in real time and space. In the final, integrative phase, the quantitative
findings will be expanded with the qualitative ones, aiming to produce knowledge that can serve public health policies and interventions to tackle COO.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alice Reid (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Lander Bosch (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000738/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 2405249 | Studentship | ES/P000738/1 | 01/10/2017 | 08/02/2021 | Lander Bosch |
| Description | Childhood obesity, although a preventable condition, remains a major global public health concern. Despite tremendous efforts, researchers and policymakers have been unable to turn the tide on children's weight gain. In recent years, Health Geographers have increasingly acknowledged the role of place in determining children's levels of extracurricular physical activity, thereby influencing their body shapes. This recognition has not, however, led to a full understanding of the triad connecting the built environment to children's physical activity and body composition. My research therefore aimed to fill this gap by comprehensively uncovering the dynamics at work in this triad. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining the strengths of quantitative spatial epidemiology and the qualitative exploration of children's context-specific lifeworlds in London. The integration of findings obtained through these different research lenses showed that the built environment was severely implicated in determining the body composition of young citizens. This effect, however, was not direct, as out-of-school activity emerged as the crucial pivot mediating the built environmental-body composition relation. Through numbers and narratives, the myriad ways in which the environment, activity and body shape interacted were unveiled. First, I demonstrated the need to disentangle extracurricular physical activity and body mass metrics into their prime components. Having done so, I established that active school travel constitutes a primary pathway in tackling the overweight and obesity epidemic, due to its fat-mass-reducing effect and close associations with the built environment. Integration of quantitative and qualitative evidence showed how proximity to school, traffic safety, the provision of safe and well-maintained pavements and crossroads, and parental perceptions were crucially involved in this relationship. Having contributed to the translation of these findings into policy and practice through concrete policy recommendations, this research constitutes a bold step towards the creation of activity-inciting, leptogenic environments for children. |
| Exploitation Route | My research findings are directly applicable both in future research on childhood obesity and physical activity, as well as in policy, providing a tailor-made pathway to study the local drivers of and barriers to overweight and obesity in children in relation to their diverse built environments and extracurricular activity patterns. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Transport,Other |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.60690 |
| Description | Through my fieldwork in the London Borough of Brent, I was invited to contribute to the local Council's Obesity Scrutiny Task Group, thereby influencing the future mobility, physical activity and overweight and obesity policies for children in the Borough. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Brent Council Obesity Scrutiny Task Group |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | I was invited to provide evidence to the Brent Council Obesity Scrutiny Task Group based on my research in this London Borough. The resulting report is to be published in 2020. |
| Description | Gonville Studentship, Gonville & Caius College Cambridge |
| Amount | £42,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Gonville and Caius College |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 01/2021 |
| Description | Brent Headteacher Conference Presentations |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I have been invited to present my research setup and findings at the annual headteacher workshops in the London Borough of Brent, where my fieldwork is set. This also enables me to influence school policy and directly engage with local professionals and policymakers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | Invited lecture, Science and Technology Studies BSc, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Delivered research lecture and presentation in the 'Technology, Diversity and Geographies of Wellbeing' module at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Journal Article Press Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The University of Cambridge published a press release in relation to my published 2019 article, which was picked up widely in national and international (primarily print) media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/children-who-walk-to-school-less-likely-to-be-overweight-or-obes... |
| Description | Nordic Geographers' Meeting Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | International oral presentation at the Nordic Geographers' Meeting in Trondheim, on the topic '(Re)claiming the Urban Realm for and by Children: Empowering Children's Voices through Go-along Interviewing', during the session 'Health and Sustainability in the Global North' I convened. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participants' visit to University of Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | My research participants were invited on a school trip to Cambridge following the conclusion of my fieldwork. This involved a visit to the Museum of Zoology, and lunch and a talk at Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/news/young-londoners-my-home-your-home |
| Description | Providing evidence to Obesity Scrutiny Task Group, Brent Council, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Brent is a London Borough with one of the highest levels of childhood overweight and obesity. I was invited to provide expert advice based on my research on children's activity in their built environment in the Borough to local Councillors, NHS staff and interest group representatives, feeding into the Obesity Scrutiny Task Group report to be published in 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Results presentations at schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Following the conclusion of my fieldwork, I held in-school presentations for participating children, parents, guardians and teachers, introducing my findings and sharing the developed policy proposals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |