A traffic light approach

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Guidance on a traffic light approach to support weight management services for children, young people, and their families.

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To support behaviour change for physical health, emotional wellbeing and positive eating behaviours.

To support children, young people and their family to achieve healthy weight management by reducing energy density, and including nutrient rich foods to help them meet nutritional requirements for healthy growth and development.

The TG will understand how to achieve healthy weight management by including food and drinks that are:

  • rich in nutrients to help them meet nutritional requirements for healthy growth and development, and reduce excessive energy intake
  • lower in energy to support healthy weight management.
  • Obesity UK. Language Matters: Obesity. 2020. 
  • Department of Health and Social Care. Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives. 2020.
  • Public Health England. Let’s talk about weight: a step-by-step guide to brief interventions with children and families for health and care professionals. 2017.
  • STOP Obesity Alliance. Weigh In: Talking to your children about weight and health. 2019.
  • Artiles, R. F, Staub, K, Aldakak, L et al. 2019. Mindful eating and common diet programs lower body weight similarly: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 20, 1619-1627.
  • British Dietetic Association (BDA) Mindful eating fact sheet. 2020.
  • Marks, R. 2022. Childhood Obesity and Mindfulness. Advances in Obesity, Weight Management and Control, 12(3), 63-69.
  • Nelson, J. 2017. Mindful Eating: The art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectrum. 30(3), 171-174
  • O’Reilly, G. A, Cook, L, Spruijt-Metz, D, Black, D. S. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions for obesity-related eating behaviours: A literature review. Obesity Review, 1:15(6), 453-461.
  • The Centre for mindful eating: Mindful Eating Position Statements. (Accessed: December 2022).
  • Van Strien, T. (2018). Causes of emotional eating and matched treatment of obesity. Current Diabetes Reports, 18(35), 1-8.
  • Birtwell, K, Williams, K, van Marwijk, H et al. (2019). An exploration of formal and informal mindfulness practice and associations with wellbeing. Mindfulness, 10, 89-99.
  • The Eatwell Guide, Public Health England (2016).
  • Epstein, L. H. (2022). A Brief History and Future of the Traffic Light Diet, Current Developments in Nutrition, 6(9).
  • Bird, F. et al. Attitudes to the Three Weight Maintenance Strategies: A Qualitative Study. Nutrients 2022, 14(21), 4441.
  • Vorland, C.J. et al. Traffic Light Diets for Childhood Obesity: Disambiguation of Terms and Critical Review of Application, Food Categorisation, and Strength of Evidence. Curr Dev Nutr, 2022; 6(3).
  • Vorland, C. et al. Traffic light diets per se have limited evidence for effectiveness on childhood obesity: a review. Curr Dev Nutr, 2020.
  • Obesity in children and young people: prevention and lifestyle weight management programmes. Quality standard 94 (QS94). 2015.
  • Duncanson, K. et al. Impact of weight management nutrition interventions on dietary outcomes in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Hum Nutr Diet, 2021; 34, 147-177.
  • Andela, S. et al. Efficacy of very low-energy diet programs for weight loss: a systematic review with meta-analysis of the intervention studies in children and adolescents with obesity. Obesity Reviews, 2019; 20:871-882.
  • Arenaza, L/ et al. The effect of a family-based lifestyle education program on dietary habits, hepatic fat and adiposity markers in 8-12 year old children with overweight/obesity. Nutrients, 2022: 12(5), 1443. 
NDR-UK Ref No: 9529E
Classification: HP
Related Printed Version: 9529
Publication Date: 02/24
Last Review: 02/24
Last Update: 02/24

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