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A systematic review of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal level interventions at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in obesity amongst adults

Hillier-Brown, F.C.; Bambra, C.L.; Cairns-Nagi, J.M.; Kasim, A.; Moore, H.J.; Summerbell, C.D.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal level interventions at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in obesity amongst adults Thumbnail


Authors

F.C. Hillier-Brown

C.L. Bambra

J.M. Cairns-Nagi

A. Kasim

H.J. Moore



Contributors

Frances Hillier-Brown frances.hillier-brown@durham.ac.uk
Other

F Hillier-Brown wdst36@durham.ac.uk
Other

J.M. Cairns d51rkc@durham.ac.uk
Other

Abstract

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in obesity are well established in high-income countries. There is a lack of evidence of the types of intervention that are effective in reducing these inequalities among adults. Objectives: To systematically review studies of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal interventions in reducing socio-economic inequalities in obesity among adults. Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched from start date to October 2012 along with website and grey literature searches. The review examined the best available international evidence (both experimental and observational) of interventions at an individual, community and societal level that might reduce inequalities in obesity among adults (aged 18 years or over) in any setting and country. Studies were included if they reported a body fatness-related outcome and if they included a measure of socio-economic status. Data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted using established mechanisms and narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: The ‘best available’ international evidence was provided by 20 studies. At the individual level, there was evidence of the effectiveness of primary care delivered tailored weight loss programmes among deprived groups. Community based behavioural weight loss interventions and community diet clubs (including workplace ones) also had some evidence of effectiveness—at least in the short term. Societal level evaluations were few, low quality and inconclusive. Further, there was little evidence of long term effectiveness, and few studies of men or outside the USA. However, there was no evidence to suggest that interventions increase inequalities. Conclusions: The best available international evidence suggests that some individual and community-based interventions may be effective in reducing socio-economic inequalities in obesity among adults in the short term. Further research is required particularly of more complex, multi-faceted and societal-level interventions.

Citation

Hillier-Brown, F., Bambra, C., Cairns-Nagi, J., Kasim, A., Moore, H., & Summerbell, C. (2014). A systematic review of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal level interventions at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in obesity amongst adults. International Journal of Obesity, 38(12), 1483-1490. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.75

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Dec 1, 2014
Deposit Date Jun 5, 2014
Publicly Available Date Jul 25, 2014
Journal International Journal of Obesity
Print ISSN 0307-0565
Electronic ISSN 1476-5497
Publisher Springer Nature
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 38
Issue 12
Pages 1483-1490
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.75
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1425844

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.






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