14 October 2008
Press Release: 10th October 2008
A local multi-agency treatment study, ‘The Family Project’ has won the National Obesity Forum Primary Care Award for Excellence in Childhood and Adolescents Weight Management. The project is a joint venture between Health and Social Services, Education, Sport & Culture & the Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton. The approach is multi-component to help overweight children and their families move to a more healthy lifestyle.
“The Family Project Team are delighted to win such a prestigious award” said Diane Smith, Project Co-ordinator and Senior Dietitian. “Childhood obesity is becoming a global epidemic. Evidence is only emerging in the UK in the last couple of years on the most effective methods of treatment. The Jersey Family Project results now add valuable information on the best methods of treatment”
Sixty five local children aged 6-14 years old were randomly allocated to receive the treatment in year 1 (immediate intervention) or year 2 (delayed intervention). The intervention included interactive workshops on healthy eating, cookery sessions making healthy pitta pockets and fruit smoothies, advice on improving self-esteem and how to deal with bullying. It also included fun activity sessions of trampolining, junior gym, rock-climbing, table-tennis and football and it was all free. The programme was delivered by a Dietitian, a Health Promotion Officer, an Educational Psychologist and Physical Activity Instructors.
One parent said “I thought the Family Project was a good idea as it brought together families with similar problems. You always think that it’s just your kids but it was nice to be able to talk to other parents on the problems they had and we were able to discuss and share ideas on how to tackle those problems.”
Another parent said “My child has done extremely well with his weight loss and the improvement in his self image and confidence has been a joy to behold. The programme was very useful for all of us in that it gave my child a regular target knowing that he would be formally assessed and recorded-albeit in a very sensitive way for which we are grateful. The work you are doing is so important and I wish you the very best of luck.”
The impact of the intervention was greatest for those who received intervention without a delay, with sustained weight loss seen for the children two years after their treatment. The number of children at the highest level of obesity dropped from 57% to 19% of the group. Those in the second group who had to wait for a year before the intervention started, did less well. This suggests that offering help to families as soon as possible is important.
The National Obesity Forum prize of £1000 which was awarded to the team at the National Obesity Forum Conference in London this week is to be used for service development. The team are considering how best to use the prize money. One suggestion is to run more cookery sessions and produce healthy recipes for the children and parents using a chef with a special interest in this area.
gov.je