Childhood obesity
Our programme to improve child health and reduce child obesity in cities
The goal of our programme is to close the childhood obesity inequality gap by bringing the high rates of childhood obesity in neighbourhoods with the lowest incomes down to the level of the more affluent ones.
What is our programme?
We are running a ten-year programme to improve children’s health in urban areas by tackling childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity is a complex global issue and a major challenge in London, which has the highest rates of any global city. It is also a particular issue in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark – where we work – which have some of the highest rates in the country. Still, although the issue is complex, we believe solutions don't have to be.
How does our programme work in practice?
We partner with other organisations to deliver projects, conduct research and amplify our results.
As food environments are influenced by businesses, government and our own communities, creating change requires working with a wide range of partners. In practice, this means we layer up different activities and work with a range of organisations to test and run projects that can tackle the issue from many angles. Given the clear link between an area’s average income and obesity, we focus our efforts in the areas with lower average incomes, where childhood obesity rates are highest.
The projects and activities within our programme focus on three areas to make sure children and families can live healthy lives: streets, schools and homes. This means that we work across these different environments in order to make an impact on closing the childhood obesity inequality gap.
Find out more about our approach to tackling childhood obesity.
Bite Size: tackling inner-city childhood obesity
Exploring what behavioural science, lived experience and insights tell us about one of the biggest urban health challenges of our time.
Explore the reportWhat will it take to close the gap? Two years into our childhood obesity programme
Exploring how we've identified our goals, what they mean in practice, and how we track and measure our impact.
Read the blogOur projects
We're working with others to find and test the best ways to tackle the high local rates of childhood obesity.
Faraday Neighbourhood Scheme
Taking a whole-systems approach by layering solutions in the Southwark ward
Collaboration for Healthier Lives
Working with retailers and manufacturers to help people move to healthier shopping baskets
Sarah Hickey, Programme Director
Sarah leads our programme to reduce the number of children and young people reaching an unhealthy weight.
See Sarah's full profileShare your idea with us
We provide financial, strategic and practical support to organisations looking to tackle childhood obesity. Get in touch with your idea.
Get in touchChildhood obesity newsletter
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Find out moreOur urban health programmes
Find out moreRelated content
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Urban health
As an urban health foundation, we explore how living in cities impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. We use our own insights and learn from others, identifying what works to inform practice and policy.
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Neighbourhood Schemes
Our Neighbourhood Schemes focus on driving change around a health issue within a small geography or defined community, targeting the issue from many angles.
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London's Childhood Obesity Taskforce
A partnership taking action to change the environments in the capital that promote poor nutrition and little movement