To receive any other items of business.

The Consultant in Public Health presented a short briefing on the association between childhood obesity and oral health and gave an update on the provision of fluoride varnishing in dental practices across Herefordshire. The principal points included:

1. There is an association between childhood obesity and oral health, however, the causation data is not available at present.
2. There is stronger evidence between adult obesity and poor oral health.
3. A lengthy discussion was had with the Oral Health Improvement Board around fluoride varnishing. Fluoride varnishing can be applied to both baby teeth and adult teeth by a dentist and the process involves the varnish having high levels of fluoride on the surface which can be applied on the teeth twice a year to prevent decay.
4. The recommendation is for children and adults, at high risk of tooth decay, to have fluoride varnishing. More can be done to publish fluoride varnishing and one of the actions taken by the Oral Health Improvement Board was to look at the data which is supplied by NHS Business Services Authority (BSA).
5. At the next Oral Health Improvement Board meeting, it will be reported as to how many dental practices are claiming for fluoride varnishing services and that will help feed into the plan for greater publication across the county.

The Public Health Lead Mental Health presented a short item on childhood obesity. The principal points included:

1. The data for 2022/23 indicates that in Herefordshire, 19% of children in reception are obese rising to 35% in Year 6.
2. There is a longstanding pattern of obesity doubling in primary school.
3. The Herefordshire proportion of overweight/very overweight/obese children has followed the English trend, with a peak seen in 2021 data and then a slight downwards trend in last year’s data.

The Director of Public Health noted that there is a significant proportion of children who are overweight or very overweight. It is worrying that 1 in 2 children in Year 6 in the most deprived wards are overweight or very overweight. Positively, about 16% of children who are obese at reception year go to a healthy weight at Year 6. Therefore, whilst there are real challenges, there are some real opportunities that exist in this area.

The Executive Director Strategy and Integration ICB suggested whether there is an issue about access to unhealthy foods among certain age groups in some parts of the county.

The Director of Public Health added that obesity is a complex issue and that there are 150 different determinants of obesity. It may be useful to do some insight work in some of these areas to understand the challenges and themes that may address obesity in certain parts of the county.

The Vice-Chair asked whether there is any difference amongst uptake of those being weighed and those refusing to be weighed at school.

The Public Health Lead Mental Health responded that uptake figures are high with about 98% being weighed at school.

The Public Health Lead CYP and Sexual Health added that the Healthy Tots programme, aimed at early years nurseries, is a real opportunity where the criteria, within the framework, can be dictated. As a result, healthy eating policies can be steered in nurseries.

The VCS representative noted the ‘Off to an Active Start’ programme is being piloted in Worcestershire.