Getting the skinny on childhood obesity: the IDEFICS study

Transcription

1 Getting the skinny on childhood obesity: the IDEFICS study Stuart Nicholls, Garrath Williams (PI) Kristin Voigt & Dita Wickins-Drazilova (Department of Politics, Philosophy & Religion, Lancaster University, UK) - on behalf of the IDEFICS consortium - Funded by the EC, FP 6, Contract No (FOOD)

2 Diseases & disorders In childhood Later in life* Overweight, obesity & co-morbid conditions Osteoporosis (type II diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors & diseases, abnormal glucose metabolism) Metabolic syndrome Musculoskeletal disorders (postural deformities) Other musculoskeletal disorders Obesity Type II diabetes Cardiovascular diseases Developmental disorders (motoric retardation) *Potential consequences later in life 2

3 Objectives The strategic objectives in IDEFICS are to enhance the knowledge of the health effects of a changing diet & an altered social environment & lifestyle of children in Europe, and to develop, implement & validate specific intervention approaches in order to reduce the prevalence of diet- & lifestyle-related diseases & disorders in the EU, focusing on the age group of 2 to 10 years. 3

4 Participating countries Ghent, Belgium Strovolos, Cyprus Copenhagen, Denmark Tallin, Estonia Grenoble, France Bremen, Germany Bremerhaven, Germany Dortmund, Germany Wuppertal, Germany Pécs, Hungary Avellino, Italy Campobasso, Italy Milan, Italy Naples, Italy Zaragoza, Spain Palma de Mallorca, Spain Gothenburg, Sweden Bristol, United Kingdom Glasgow, United Kingdom Lancaster, United Kingdom 4

5 Empirical studies within IDEFICS 2 major surveys: 8 countries (T0: baseline & T1: follow-up) including 16,000 (pre-) school children Data (questionnaires & biomarkers) to be used for aetiological studies: cross-section, case-control, cohort studies intervention studies subpopulations for special examinations e.g. age-specific motor tests, air displacement phlethysmography, food tasting Lancaster: focus on ethics of prevention policies and interventions Sept 2007-Feb 2008 (T0). 16,569 responses. 16,223 fulfilled inclusion criteria. 5

6 Demographics 6

7 What we asked parents: the T0 questionnaire

8 What we asked parents: the T0 questionnaire

9 Very unhealthy foods should be highly taxed whilst healthy foods should be subsidised (n=14705)

10 Very unhealthy foods should be highly taxed whilst healthy foods should be subsidised (cont.)

11 Very unhealthy foods should be highly taxed whilst healthy foods should be subsidised (cont.)

12 Parents attitudes: taxation & subsidy Parents are surprisingly supportive of taxation and subsidy measures that would promote the consumption of healthier foods and discourage that of less healthy foods A frequently voiced fear: Since unhealthier foods are consumed more by lower SES groups, they will be hit hardest by taxes Conversely, subsidies will benefit higher SES groups more Our finding: it is exactly lower income groups that are most supportive of tax/subsidy measures

13 Parents attitudes: taxation & subsidy Parents are surprisingly supportive of taxation and subsidy measures that would promote the consumption of healthier foods and discourage that of less healthy foods A frequently voiced fear: Since unhealthier foods are consumed more by lower SES groups, they will be hit hardest by taxes Conversely, subsidies will benefit higher SES groups more Our finding: it is exactly lower income groups that are most supportive of tax/subsidy measures

14 There should be a controlled restriction of advertising of high-fat and high-sugar foods

15 There should be a controlled restriction of advertising of high-fat and high-sugar foods

16 What we will ask parents: Their views about IDEFICS interventions in the T2 questionnaire Among other questions

17 What we will ask parents: Their views about IDEFICS interventions in the T2 questionnaire (cont.) Or

18 Study outcomes Prevalence estimates on diet- & lifestyle-related diseases & their key risk factors - comparable across Europe Risk factors & causal pathways incl. biomarkers of exposure & effect as well as genetic factors Internal & external triggers of food choices in children Effective culturally sensitive intervention strategies - easy to implement on a large scale in Europe Nutritional, behavioural & ethical guidelines for scientists, policy makers, health insurances, stakeholders & channels 18

19 Future developments i.family - EU FP7 project Follow up into teens Additional GIS & GPS data

20 Acknowledgements and references This work was done as part of the IDEFICS Study ( We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Community within the Sixth RTD Framework Programme. Contract No (FOOD). W Ahrens, K Bammann, A Siani, K Buchecker, S De Henauw, L Iacoviello, et al (2011) The IDEFICS cohort: design, characteristics and participation in the baseline survey. International Journal of Obesity; 35: S3-S15 Moreno, Luis A.; Pigeot, Iris; Ahrens, Wolfgang (eds) (2010). Epidemiology of obesity in children and adolescents Prevalence and aetiology. New York: Springer