Maternal and child obesity: some policy challenges

Abstract

The recent rise in the prevalence of obesity in the UK population includes women of reproductive age and children. For both groups there are specific health concerns consequent on excess bodyweight, including obstetric complications, fetal growth abnormalities and a range of obesity co-morbidities seen in children that were rarely found in young people a generation earlier. This paper identifies some of the issues which challenge policy-makers: guidelines for gestational weight gain and for weight loss after pregnancy; inequalities and interventions in pregnancy; interventions to prevent child obesity; and the role of individuals, government and the commercial sector in implementing policies for promoting healthy weight.