Tackling obesity: Promoting physical activity and healthy eating in schools

Since the 1970s, rates of obesity amongst school-aged children have doubled or tripled in economically developed countries such as the UK, USA, Canada and Australia (Wang and Lobstein, 2006). Obesity is defined as excess weight in relation to height (Sproston and Primatesta, 2003) and, although definitions for children vary, being 20 per cent above the ideal weight for height can classify children as obese (Wang and Lobstein, 2006). There is widespread concern about the impact of obesity on children’s health and well-being.