Why is this National Indicator important?
Maintaining a healthy weight during childhood is important for both physical health and mental wellbeing. While this indicator encompasses both underweight and overweight, currently the wider public health challenge relates to rising levels of obesity and overweight children in Scotland. Being overweight or obese during childhood is a health concern in itself, but when it continues into adulthood it can lead to physical and mental health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, increased risk of certain cancers, low self-esteem and depression.
What will influence this National Indicator?
Obesity develops when calorie intake exceeds energy expenditure. However, this simple picture is affected by a range of complex social and environmental factors that strongly influence individual choices. These include, for example: marketing of energy-dense and high salt foods to children; increases in sedentary behaviour and associated snacking; creation of environments that are safe for walking and play; access to active travel options; and health-promoting schools that support physical activity and healthy eating both within and outwith the curriculum.
What is the Government's role?
To manage childhood obesity, we need to help children increase their physical activity (and consequently their energy expenditure) while reducing their calorie intake. Tackling the environmental, social and behavioral influences, including the family context, is an important part of this. This is reflected in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on the management of obesity in children and young people, published in 2003 and currently under revision (SIGN publication No. 69 - Edinburgh: SIGN, 2003). We will publish our Joint Action Plan on Diet, Physical Activity and Health Weight describing what we will do with an additional £40m we have allocated in the Scottish Budget. This includes £6m over the next three years for NHS Health Boards to target a healthy weight intervention to 20,000 children.
How are we performing?
Once the 2008 Scottish Health Survey results are published in 2009 we will be able to assess the annual rate of change in the proportion of children with their Body Mass Index outwith a healthy range in more recent years, and compare this with the 1.6% per annum estimated growth calculated by comparing the proportions in 1998 and 2003. Until then we can use changes in the proportion itself as a proxy measure.
In 2003, almost one third of children (32.1%) were outwith the healthy weight range, an increase from 29.6% in 1998. This increase was more obvious in boys (who increased from 28.9% to 33.7%) than in girls (30.3% to 30.4%).
Source: Scottish Health Survey
Methodology
Data from the 1998 and 2003 surveys shows that the proportion of children with their BMI outwith the health range increased by 2.5 percentage points (8.5% compared with the 29.6% of children in 1998). The fact that the proportion itself has increased results in a "worsening" evaluation. Thresholds for progress in relation to the rate of change in the proportion will be determined once the 2008 survey results are available, and will be compared with the previous 1.6% per annum.
For information on general methodological approach, please click here.
Further Information
2007 Spending Review Technical Note
Statistics Topic Page
Who are our supporting delivery partners?
NHS Scotland
Local Authorities
Related Strategic Objectives
Healthier
Safer and Stronger
Smarter
Wealthier and Fairer
Greener