The Impact of Food Environment in Childhood Obesity in the UK: A Systematic Review

In the UK, childhood obesity is becoming a more serious public health issue that has a big impact on people's health as well as healthcare systems. It has been shown that one of the main factors impacting children's eating habits is the food environment, which includes the availability, accessibility, affordability, and marketing of unhealthy food alternatives. In order to better understand how the food environment affects childhood obesity in the UK, this dissertation will concentrate on the many ways that different factors influence children's unhealthy eating patterns. The study examined data from children aged 5 to 18 with the aim to determine whether exposure to food environments and obesity rates are related. Qualitative studies also shed light on the perceived difficulties and obstacles parents encounter when trying to encourage healthy eating in the contemporary food environment. The results show a substantial correlation between children's obesity rates and exposure to unhealthful eating situations. Poor dietary choices are mostly caused by factors like the abundance of fast-food restaurants, the aggressive marketing of high calorie, low-nutrient meals, and the difficulty in finding reasonably priced, healthful options. The study comes to the conclusion that while the food environment is a major contributing factor to childhood obesity, further investigation is necessary to completely comprehend the interactions between a number of variables, such as socioeconomic position, education, and governmental laws. To effectively reduce childhood obesity in the UK, comprehensive interventions addressing individual behaviours as well as systemic changes in the food environment are required.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

msc

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Dooru, Naveena

• RJ101 Iechyd plant. Gwasanaethau iechyd plant

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3276