Impact of cuts to local government spending on Sure Start children’s centres on childhood obesity in England: a longitudinal ecological study

Mason, Kate E; Alexiou, Alexandros; Bennett, Davara Lee; Summerbell, Carolyn; Barr, Ben; Taylor-Robinson, David

Abstract

Childhood obesity is rising in disadvantaged areas in England. Sure Start children’s centres provide community-based services for children <5 years and their parents, including many services that can support healthy weight, directly or indirectly. Since 2010, austerity-driven cuts to local authority (LA) budgets have led to substantially reduced public expenditure on Sure Start services. We assessed whether childhood obesity prevalence has increased more since 2010 in those areas in England that experienced greater cuts to spending on Sure Start.

Citation

Mason, K. E., Alexiou, A., Bennett, D. L., Summerbell, C., Barr, B., & Taylor-Robinson, D. (2021). Impact of cuts to local government spending on Sure Start children’s centres on childhood obesity in England: a longitudinal ecological study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(9), 860-866. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-216064

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 22, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 21, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Print ISSN: 0143-005X
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-2738
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 860-866
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-216064
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1235602