1. Liz Redmond
Director of Population Health
Department of Health
Introduction

2. Childhood obesity – why is it an issue
for Northern Ireland?
• Long term health risks
• Lower quality of life
• Costs to health service and wider society

3. Programme
• 10:45 Introduction – Liz Redmond (DoH)
• 10:50 The marketing of food to children - Dr Mimi
Tatlow-Golden (Open University)
• 11:20 Lifetime costs of childhood obesity in
Northern Ireland - Prof Kevin Balanda (IPH)
• 11:50 Northern Ireland’s approach to tackling
childhood obesity - Gary Maxwell (DoH)
• 12:20 Discussion: What are the lessons?
• 12:50 Close

4. Childhood Obesity
Gary Maxwell
Health Development Policy - Population Health
Department of Health
NI Policy and Obesity Strategy

5. Prevalence of Obesity
Health Survey Northern Ireland (HSNI) 2016/17
•Adults - 63% of adults were either overweight
(36%) or obese (27%).
•Children - These findings use International
Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points of the BMI
percentiles for children aged 2-15 years of age.
•25% of children aged 2-15 were classed as
overweight (17%) and obese (8%).

7. A FITTER FUTURE FOR ALL 2012-2022
Empower the population of Northern
Ireland to make healthy choices,
reduce the risk of overweight and
obesity related diseases and improve
health and well being, by creating an
environment that supports and
promotes a physically active lifestyle
and a healthy diet.
Progress report:
https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/framework-
preventing-and-addressing-overweight-and-obesity-2012-2022-
progress-report-2015-19-0

8. Key Areas being addressed
include:
• Early Years.
• Obesogenic Environment.
• Working with food producers, manufacturers
and retailers to improve nutritional content and
customer information.
• Empowering, inspiring and providing
opportunities for people to make a healthy
lifestyle choice.

9. Key Actions 0-5s
• Weigh to a healthy Pregnancy
• Supporting breastfeeding in public places.
• Compliance with Nutrition Matters for the Early Years.
• Early Years settings provide a supportive environment
for young children to achieve the CMO recommended
levels of physical activity (Start Active, Stay Active).
• Training delivered to support the interpretation of the
Early Years section of Start Active, Stay Active
guidelines.
• Evaluated programmes to increase practical food skills,
awareness and knowledge.

10. Key Actions Children and Young
People
• Evidence based interventions.
• Public information campaign aimed at parents –
supporting strengthened advertising regulations
• Food in Schools Policy.
• Council have play and leisure policy and action
plans in place.
• CMO Physical Activity Guidelines.
• Active Schools Travel.

12. Implementation
• The outcomes were developed with key delivery
partners who are involved in their implementation.
• The Regional Obesity Prevention Implementation
Group – ROPIG (chaired by the PHA), leads
implementation of non-Departmental outcomes.
• The FSA are a key delivery partner for issues
relating to reformulation, portion size, nutritional
information and education.

13. AFFFA ACTIVITY

15. The Changing Context
• Government Departments and
responsibilities,
• Emerging evidence and research,
• Community planning,
• Action in other jurisdictions, and
• Draft PfG and NICS Outcomes Delivery Plan.

16. UK and Ireland
• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Ireland
• Channel Islands
• Isle of Man

17. What Next
• Review Short term outcomes for 2019-2022
• Thinking about what follows 2022
• How can you contribute?
• Happy to engage:
Gary.Maxwell@health-ni.gov.uk