Background: Scotland has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe, and efforts to prevent obesity in young children are needed. This thesis aimed to highlight the detrimental health impacts of obesity in younger children and adapt an existing obesity prevention intervention for use in Scottish preschools.
Methods: This thesis presents five manuscripts. The first is a systematic review of the relationship between obesity and co-morbid conditions in childhood (specifically, asthma, vitamin D deficiency, iron deficiency, flat-footedness and allergies). Two methodology manuscripts are then presented, one detailing the steps taken to adapt the ToyBox intervention for use in Scottish preschools, which is followed by a protocol for the feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) of the adapted intervention. Results reporting on intervention fidelity, recruitment rates and secondary outcome measures of the cRCT is first presented, followed by a manuscript detailing acceptability of the intervention using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Results: The systematic review identified 41 papers which investigated associations between obesity and childhood (defined as
| Date of Award | 13 Aug 2020 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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| Supervisor | Adrienne Hughes (Supervisor), John Reilly (Supervisor) & Ann-Marie Gibson (Supervisor) |
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