Skip Navigation


Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on October 30, 2006
Journal of Public Health 2006 28(4):330-336; doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdl070
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
28/4/330    most recent
fdl070v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Patterson, L.
Right arrow Articles by Buchan, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Patterson, L.
Right arrow Articles by Buchan, I.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved.

Measuring children and monitoring obesity: surveys of English Primary Care Trusts 2004–06



Lesley Patterson, Research Associate1

Paul Jarvis, PhD Student1

Arpana Verma, Specialist Registrar1

Roger Harrison, Senior Research Fellow1,2

Iain Buchan, Director & Clinical Senior Lecturer1
1 Medical School, University of Manchester, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
2 Bolton Primary Care Trust, St. Peter’s House, Silverwell Street, Bolton BL1 1PP, UK

Address correspondence to Iain Buchan, E-mail: buchan{at}manchester.ac.uk

Background Child obesity has unclear determinants and consequences. A precautionary approach requires best-guess interventions and large-scale surveillance. This study was to determine the current measurement activities and the information systems required for child obesity surveillance.

Methods Design: Questionnaire-based surveys. Setting:Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in United Kingdom. Participants: Two hundred and forty-seven (82%) PCTs in 2004 and 240 (79%) in 2006. Main measures: Children’s ages at which height and weight are routinely measured, the type of personnel taking the measurements, arrangements for recording data, information systems and uses of the data.

Results PCTs measure height/length and weight most commonly at 6 weeks (74%) and 5 years (74%)—also at 6–12 months (58%), 1.5–2.5 years (50%), 2.5–4 years (40%), 11 years (18%) and 7 years (11%). Seventy-seven per cent of PCTs transferred the measurements to a database—26 different information systems were named. Six per cent of PCTs in 2004, rising to 34% in 2006, used the data to produce public health reports.

Conclusions Body mass index (BMI) surveillance requires new arrangements in 25% of PCTs at school entry and 80% at transfer to senior school. Important aspects of child obesity surveillance not yet addressed are pre-school measurement, longitudinal assessment and the public health requirements of (child) electronic health records.

Keywords: child health, obesity, surveillance


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.