In Singapore, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased from 13 per cent in 2017 to 16 per cent in 2021 amongst primary and secondary school-going children. This trend was similarly observed globally as COVID-19 limited opportunities for physical activities and affected health behaviours in children.
Is it obesity or just “baby fat”?
Many parents of overweight children expect their children to outgrow their “baby fat” when they experience a growth spurt in puberty. However, statistics from the Health Promotion Board show that seven in 10 children who are overweight at age seven, remain overweight in adulthood.
Childhood obesity can lead to the following complications:
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Metabolic: Hypertension, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome
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Physical: Obstructive sleep apnoea, joint problems
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Psychosocial: Bullying, low self-esteem, low quality of life, increased risk of mood symptoms
The cause of obesity is not “laziness”
It is commonly misunderstood that obesity is caused by either laziness or the lack of willpower. Contrary to this, there are many reasons for obesity that are beyond the child’s control. These include:
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Family and school environment, which influences the types of food available and opportunities for physical activity
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Socioeconomic factors such as cost of living, accessibility and affordability of healthy food, adverse childhood experiences, and weight stigma (negative perception of weight gain) from others
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Genetic factors where there is a family history of obesity
Surrounding people may also fat-shame the child in an attempt to encourage him or her to adopt healthier lifestyle habits. However, this is harmful and has been shown to increase the child’s risk to eating disorders, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.
Interventions at the early stage of life are crucial for the current and future well-being of children with obesity, and parents play a central role.
Effective treatment starts with the family
Since 2007, the KKH Weight Management Clinic has been seeing an increase in the number of children with weight issues, with an average of 700 new cases per year. The clinic provides intervention and management through various methods of treatment.
Treatment that uses a family-based, coordinated care approach – involving healthcare providers, schools and communities – has been observed to be the most effective in treating childhood obesity.
Parents are the primary role models of healthy eating and lifestyle habits for their children. By adopting healthy dietary and lifestyle habits – such as eating a balanced diet and reducing the consumption of unhealthy food and beverages – they encourage their children to adopt these same healthy habits. Initiating and planning exercise and fun physical activities as a family also motivates children to stay active.
With early detection and intervention with a family focus, overweight children can improve their weight over time and foster lifelong healthy lifestyle habits, ensuring good health outcomes that extend into adulthood.
Beyond familial efforts, it is also important to ensure that schools and the community provide healthy meals and ample opportunities for physical activities. These aid in heightening awareness, and forming and maintaining long-lasting habits amongst children, to continue to make healthy food and activity choices even when they are in school or with their peers.
Family-based community lifestyle intervention for primary school children
In 2022, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) launched the community Lifestyle InTervention for Everyone (LITE) programme – a school-clinic-community partnership to encourage healthy lifestyle and behaviours for primary school children with obesity and their family.
This family-based lifestyle pilot programme aims to improve participants’ body mass index (BMI), and lifestyle and dietary habits, to enhance their health outcomes towards a better quality of life in their present and future. Intervention is provided through three domains:
Exercise
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Nutrition
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Behaviour support
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- Introduce fun exercises that can be done at home.
| - Share information on fruits, vegetables and healthy food diet components in the form of interactive activities, such as quizzes and puppet videos.
- Introduce new healthy recipes weekly for families to prepare meals together.
- Share tips on choosing healthier food options such as how to read nutrition food labels.
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- Empower children and caregivers to lead healthier lifestyles by imparting strategies on:
- Setting family goals of healthy lifestyle practices, such as increasing physical activity and eating recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
- Overcoming perceived barriers of forming new lifestyle habits.
- Handling stress faced by children, such as in academics or in interpersonal relationships.
- Conducted by professionals such as psychologists, social workers, and coaches from
Active Health.
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Enrol a child into the community LITE programme today!
The community LITE programme at KKH is enrolling 100 participants who meet the following criteria:
- In primary school aged 6 to 12 years old
- BMI percentile of above 90th percentile
- No secondary causes of obesity such as genetic syndromes (e.g. Trisomy 21, Prader-Willi syndrome)
- Not taking medications that can affect weight status
- Able to attend sessions twice a week for four months (online and in-person)
The programme is conducted in English.
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| - Eligible caregivers and children who are interested can register via this weblink or the QR code:
https://tinyurl.com/LITEsignup
- Community healthcare professionals who wish to make a referral can contact the study team at
[email protected]
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Resources for healthcare professionals and caregivers
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Dr Elaine Chew, Head and Senior Consultant, Adolescent Medicine Service, KKH
A keen researcher, Dr Elaine Chew specialises in the management of adolescents with complex health issues, obesity and eating disorders. She received further specialist training in adolescent medicine at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia. Dr Chew is the lead researcher of the community LITE programme.
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Khairunisa Binte Khaider, Clinical Research Coordinator, Adolescent Medicine Service, KKH
Khairunisa supports research projects involving adolescents with weight issues and eating disorders. Khairunisa manages and runs the community LITE programme alongside the healthcare team and community partners. In 2024, Khairunisa completed further studies in Master of Public Health at the National University of Singapore.
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