School food policy in secondary schools in England and its impact on adolescents' diets and dental health: the FUEL multiple-methods study.

Background: School food standards are a legal requirement for state-funded schools in England and are designed to promote healthy eating in pupils. However, state-funded academies/free schools established between 2010 and 2014 are exempt from this legislation. To complement the school food standards, the government launched the School Food Plan in 2013, which outlines voluntary actions that schools can take to support healthy eating and increase school meal uptake.

National school food standards in England: a cross-sectional study to explore compliance in secondary schools and impact on pupil nutritional intake.

Background: Many countries have introduced school food standards to improve the dietary intakes of school-aged children. England has school food standards (SFS) legislation in place but little is known about how well secondary schools comply with this. We aimed to assess compliance with the SFS legislation in English secondary schools and explore the impact of the SFS on pupils' nutritional intake.

Extended brief interventions for weight management and obesity prevention in children: A rapid evidence review.

Uptake of child weight management (CWM) support is typically low, and services are not available in all areas. Extended brief interventions (EBIs) have been proposed as an affordable way to provide enhanced support, at a level between one-off brief advice and intensive CWM programs. This rapid systematic review sought to synthesize evidence on the efficacy of EBIs for weight management and obesity prevention in children (2-18 years).

Life in lockdown: a qualitative study exploring the experience of living through the initial COVID-19 lockdown in the UK and its impact on diet, physical activity and mental health.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK imposed a national lockdown prompting change to daily routines. Among behaviours impacted by the lockdown, diet and physical activity may be particularly important due to their association with mental health and physical health. The aim of this study was to explore people's experiences of how lockdown impacted their physical activity, dietary behaviours and mental health, with a view to informing public health promotion.

Life in lockdown: a longitudinal study investigating the impact of the UK COVID-19 lockdown measures on lifestyle behaviours and mental health.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the UK government enforcing lockdown restrictions to control virus transmission. Such restrictions present opportunities and barriers for physical activity and healthy eating. Emerging research suggests that in the early stages of the pandemic, physical activity levels decreased, consumption of unhealthy foods increased, while levels of mental distress increased.

Relationship between primary school healthy eating and physical activity promoting environments and children's dietary intake, physical activity and weight status: a longitudinal study in the West Midlands, UK.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between food and physical activity environments in primary schools and child anthropometric, healthy eating and physical activity measures.

Design: Observational longitudinal study using data from a childhood obesity prevention trial.

Setting: State primary schools in the West Midlands region, UK.

The Food provision, cUlture and Environment in secondary schooLs (FUEL) study: protocol of a mixed methods evaluation of national School Food Standards implementation in secondary schools and their impact on pupils' dietary intake and dental health.

Introduction: Excess free sugar intake is associated with obesity and poor dental health. Adolescents consume substantially more free sugar than is recommended. National (UK) School Food Standards (SFS) are in place but are not mandatory in all schools, and their impact on the diets of secondary school pupils is unknown.

Parents' Perceptions and Responses to the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

Objective: To record parents' awareness of the UK soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) and explore associations between negative psychological reactance to the levy and motivation and intentions to change consumption and purchasing.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey with UK-based parents of children aged 5-11 years (n = 237). Regression analyses were used to test associations between psychosocial responses to the levy and behavioral intentions to change family consumption and purchasing.

Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids UK, a weight management programme for fathers: feasibility RCT.

Objective: To assess (1) the feasibility of delivering a culturally adapted weight management programme, Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids United Kingdom (HDHK-UK), for fathers with overweight or obesity and their primary school-aged children, and (2) the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Design: A two-arm, randomised feasibility trial with a mixed-methods process evaluation.

Setting: Socioeconomically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse localities in West Midlands, UK.

Cultural adaptation of an existing children's weight management programme: the CHANGE intervention and feasibility RCT.

Background: Excess weight in children is a continuing health issue. Community-based children's weight management programmes have had some effect in promoting weight loss. Families from minority ethnic communities are less likely to complete these programmes but, to date, no programmes have been culturally adapted to address this.

Cultural adaptation of a children's weight management programme: Child weigHt mANaGement for Ethnically diverse communities (CHANGE) study.

Background: Childhood obesity prevalence continues to be at high levels in the United Kingdom (UK). South Asian children (mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin) with excess adiposity are at particular risk from the cardiovascular consequences of obesity. Many community-based children's weight management programmes have been delivered in the UK, but none have been adapted for diverse cultural communities.

A cluster-randomised feasibility trial of a children's weight management programme: the Child weigHt mANaGement for Ethnically diverse communities (CHANGE) study.

Background: Community-based programmes for children with excess weight are widely available, but few have been developed to meet the needs of culturally diverse populations. We adapted an existing children's weight management programme, focusing on Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. We report the evaluation of this programme to assess feasibility of programme delivery, acceptability of the programme to participants from diverse communities, and feasibility of methods to inform a future trial.

Effectiveness of a childhood obesity prevention programme delivered through schools, targeting 6 and 7 year olds: cluster randomised controlled trial (WAVES study).

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a school and family based healthy lifestyle programme (WAVES intervention) compared with usual practice, in preventing childhood obesity.

Design: Cluster randomised controlled trial.

Setting: UK primary schools from the West Midlands.

The West Midlands ActiVe lifestyle and healthy Eating in School children (WAVES) study: a cluster randomised controlled trial testing the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a multifaceted obesity prevention intervention programme targeted at children aged 6-7 years.

Background: Systematic reviews suggest that school-based interventions can be effective in preventing childhood obesity, but better-designed trials are needed that consider costs, process, equity, potential harms and longer-term outcomes.

Objective: To assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the WAVES (West Midlands ActiVe lifestyle and healthy Eating in School children) study intervention, compared with usual practice, in preventing obesity among primary school children.

Design: A cluster randomised controlled trial, split across two groups, which were randomised using a blocked balancing algorithm.

Cultural adaptation of a children's weight management programme for Bangladeshi and Pakistani families in the UK: a cluster-randomised feasibility study protocol.

Background: Group-based children's weight management programmes are widely available in the UK and evidence shows that these are effective in the short-term. No programmes have been specifically developed to meet the cultural requirements of UK minority ethnic communities. South Asian children are a high-risk group for obesity and its consequences; therefore, the study aim is to adapt an existing weight management programme for children aged 4-11 years and their families to ensure cultural relevance to Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, and undertake a feasibility study of the adapted programme.

Parent and child perceptions of school-based obesity prevention in England: a qualitative study.

Background: Schools are key settings for childhood obesity prevention, and the location for many intervention studies. This qualitative study aims to explore parent and child experiences of the WAVES study obesity prevention intervention, in order to gain understanding of the mechanisms by which the intervention results in behaviour change, and provide context to support interpretation of the main trial results.

Methods: Focus groups were held with 30 parents and 62 children (aged 6-7 years) from primary schools in the West Midlands, UK.

A cluster-randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a childhood obesity prevention programme delivered through schools, targeting 6-7 year old children: the WAVES study protocol.

Background: There is some evidence that school-based interventions are effective in preventing childhood obesity. However, longer term outcomes, equity of effects and cost-effectiveness of interventions have not been assessed. The aim of this trial is to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a multi-component intervention programme targeting the school and family environment through primary schools, in preventing obesity in 6-7 year old children, compared to usual practice.

A Brief Educational Intervention Increases Knowledge of the Sugar Content of Foods and Drinks but Does Not Decrease Intakes in Scottish Children Aged 10-12 Years.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve children's knowledge of the sugar content of food and beverages.

Methods: Cluster-randomized, controlled trial with 268 children (aged 10-12 years) from 14 primary schools in Aberdeen, Scotland. The intervention group received 2 interactive classroom sessions about sugar.

Process evaluation design in a cluster randomised controlled childhood obesity prevention trial: the WAVES study.

Background: The implementation of a complex intervention is heavily influenced by individual context. Variation in implementation and tailoring of the intervention to the particular context will occur, even in a trial setting. It is recognised that in trials, evaluating the process of implementation of a complex intervention is important, yet process evaluation methods are rarely reported.