Table 1 Characteristics of studies included in scoping review

Cetateanu et al., 2014, UK [46]

2007–08: n = 973,073 and 2008–09: n = 1,003,849 and 2009–10: n = 1,026,366, age: 4–5 years, 10–11 years

Cross-sectional, data from census, ONS and GIS (NCMP)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining BMI >  = 85th and <  = 95th percentile as OW and obesity as > 95th percentile using UK90 BMI references

IDACI (measuring relative deprivation including income, employment, education, skills and trainings, health and disability, crime, barriers to housing and services, and living environment), and area SEP

Geography (food environment characteristics: counts of fast food, other unhealthy food, mixed food outlets)

Strong

Goisis et al., 2016, UK [39]

n = 11,965, age: 5 years and n = 9,384, age: 11 years, 48.4% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OW/OB using IOTF criteria; Sample average: 20% OW, 5.8% OB

Family income

Early life (maternal prenatal smoking, breastfeeding duration, weaning); child health behaviours (physical activity, child sedentary behaviour, active play with parent, sleep time, mode of travel to school); screen time (television and computer); child diet (breakfast, fruit and sugar drink consumption); parent-level (maternal BMI)

Moderate

Goisis et al., 2019, UK [31]

n = 11,331, age: 7 years, 49.5% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, categorized into non-overweight, OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs

Family income

Ethnicity; early life (maternal prenatal smoking, breastfeeding duration, weaning); child health behaviours (sport/exercise, active playing with parent, regular bedtime); Screen time/media exposure (television and computer use); child diet (breakfast, fruit, sugar drinks); parent-level (maternal overweight/obese at time of survey; parenting: meals eaten with parent)

Moderate

Laverty et al., 2021, UK [40]

n = 8,432, age: 7, 11 and 14 years, 51.3% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG and child) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, used to calculate BMI and % BF

Family income, occupational social class

Child health behaviour (mode of travel to school)

Strong

Layte et al., 2014, Ireland [17]

n = 9,057, age: birth, 9 months and 3 years, 49% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) and health records (GUI)

Birthweight: taken from health professions birth records converted to z scores. Age 9 months: objectively measured wgt converted to z scores. Age 3: objectively measured wgt and hgt, categorized into OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs

Household social class (Irish Central Statistics office)

Early life (maternal prenatal smoking and alcohol consumption, duration of breastfeeding, weaning); child diet (dietary quality index); screen time/media exposure (television and DVD use)

Moderate

Lu et al., 2020, UK [43]

n = 15,996, age: 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 years, 48.3% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OB and OB using both IOTF and WHO criteria; OW & OB: 28.5% (IOTF); 35% (WHO)

Maternal education, family income

Ethnicity

Moderate

Martinson et al., 2012, UK and USA [37]

US sample: FFS, n = 2,930, age 1, 3, 5 and 9 years UK sample: MCS, n = 6,816, age 3, 5, 7 and 9 years

US: Longitudinal, parental hospital and home visit interviews. (FFS) UK: Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

US sample: BMI calculated from wgt and hgt at ages 3 and 9 UK sample: Objectively measured wgt and hgt, BMI calculated from wgt and hgt at ages 3 and 7; BMI categorised using CDC guidelines with 85th percentile designating OW

Maternal education, family income

Ethnicity; Parent-level factors (age mother immigrated (under/over 18 years))

Moderate

Massion et al., 2016, UK [25]

n = 11,764, age: 11 years, 48% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OW/OB using IOTF criteria; 28.8% OW at age 11

Maternal education

Early life factors (maternal pre-pregnancy weight, maternal prenatal smoking, BW, caesarean delivery, breastfeeding duration, weaning)

Strong

Mireku et al., 2020, UK [45]

n = 11,714, age: 14 years, 47.6% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt. BMI used to classify OW and OB using IOTF cut-offs. 8.0% OB, 27.2% OW

Area of deprivation

Household-level (income (equivalised))

Moderate

Noonan et al., 2016, UK [41]

n = 194, age: 9–10 years, 55.1% female

Cross-sectional, data from NSPD, in-school interviews (child), parental questionnaires (via school)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, used to calculate BMI and BMI z-scores. Normal weight and OW/OB defined using IOFT. 26% OW/OB

IMD (family income, employment, health education, housing, environment, crime)

Geography (home and neighbourhood environments (including crime and aesthetics)); child health behaviour (physical activity); parent-level (child bedroom TV)

Moderate

Noonan, 2018, UK [28]

n = 10,736, age: 9 months-14 years, 49.5% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG and child) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, categorized into non-overweight, OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs; OW 26.6%, OB 7.4%

Family income

Child diet (fruit, veg, sugary drink, and fast food consumption)

Moderate

Noonan et al., 2018, UK [30]

n = 3,717, age: 7 years, 51% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG), physical activity assessment (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, categorized into normal OW OB using IOTF criteria; 17% OW, 14% OB

Maternal education and area deprivation

Child health behaviours (physical activity)

Moderate

Oude Groeniger et al., 2020, UK [27]

n = 11,413, age: 7–14 years, 47% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OB using IOTF criteria; 8% OB at age 14

Maternal education

Screen time/media exposure (television viewing and computer use)

Strong

Parkes et al., 2016, UK [34]

n = 2,957, age: 46, 70 and 94 months, 48.4% female

Longitudinal, in-home interviews (PCG) (GUS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, at 46, 70 and 94 months used to derive standardised BMI z-scores using UK90 British growth reference data

Maternal education

Parent-level (parenting: main meal while watching TV, meals eaten in non-dining/food preparation area (e.g. bedroom), child bedroom TV); Child diet (skip breakfast, fruit, veg, crisps, sugar drinks, sweets, and chocolate consumption)

Strong

Samani-Radia et al., 2011, UK [29]

n = 2,298, age: 5–14 years, 45.6% female

Cross-sectional, in-school surveys, LEA data

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, categorized into non-overweight, OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs and % BF cut-offs using UK90 growth reference data categorizing overfat and obese

Environment (poorer urban/inner city London area with a high density of social housing) and income characteristics defined at school-level (% of children receiving free school meals)

Child height

Moderate

Schalkwijk et al., 2017, UK [38]

n = 6,467, age: 9 months, 3, 5 and 7 years, 49.7% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) observational assessment (interviewer) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OB using IOTF criteria; defining normal, 19.9% OW/OB at 7 years

Parental education, family income

Geography (greenspace, access to garden, condition of neighbourhood)

Strong

Silverwood et al., 2016, UK [36]

n = 16,628, age: 6–9 weeks, 21–24 and 39–42 months, and 48 months, 48.4% female

Longitudinal, census and SIMD data, child health records (CHSP Pre-School). (SLS)

Length/height, weight and age derived from CHSP pre-school records at 6–8 weeks, 8–9 weeks, 21–24 months, 39–42 months and 48 months. Predicted BMI at age 4.5 years derived from predicted hgt and wgt values with OW at age 4.5 defined using Cole (2000) standard definition

Maternal education, Scottish IMD, family income

Early life (BW)

Moderate

Straatmann et al., 2020, UK [26]

n = 6,306, age: 14 years

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OW/OB using IOTF criteria; 24.6% OW/OB

Maternal education

ACE (verbal and physical maltreatment, parental divorce, drug use, alcohol use, maternal mental illness, domestic violence)

Strong

Strugnell et al., 2020, UK [44]

n = 2.35 million, age: 4–5 years, 10–11 years, 49% female

Cross-sectional, school records (NCMP)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt. IOTF growth reference used to classify OW and OB

IDACI (measuring relative deprivation including income, employment, education, skills and trainings, health and disability, crime, barriers to housing and services, and living environment)

Ethnicity

Weak

Stuart et al., 2016, UK [35]

n = 9,699, age: 3, 5, 7, 11 years, 50.7% female

Longitudinal, home visit interviews (PCG) (MCS)

Objectively measure wgt and hgt, categorized into OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs

Parental income, parental education, persistent poverty indicator

Early life (maternal prenatal smoking, breastfeeding (never), low BW, high BW)

Strong

Townsend et al., 2011, UK [32]

n = 396,171, age: 4–5 years, 48% female and n = 392,344, age: 10–11 years, 48% female

Longitudinal, data from NCMP, CWI scores via the DCLG, FSM via school census data from DCSF (NCMP)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, resulting in z-scores using UK90 growth reference (Cole 1995, 1998)

CWI (a composite score of seven domains: material well-being, health, education, crime, housing, environment, children in need)

School-level deprivation: FSM (% of children receiving free school meals)

Strong

Walsh et al., 2015, Ireland [42]

n = 8,599, age: 9 years, 45.1% female

Cross-sectional, home visit interviews (PCG and child) (GUI)

Objectively measured wgt and hgt, defining OB and OW/OB using IOTF cut-offs. 5.3% OB, 24.1% OW/OB

Family income

Geography (urban/rural, proximity to recreational facilities); household-level (home owner); parent-level (age of parents, parent BMI, current smoker, child bedroom media); early life (maternal prenatal smoking and alcohol consumption, breastfed (ever), BW); child health behaviour (frequency of exercise, hospital nights, doctor visits); screen time (TV, computer and video games); child diet (sugar drinks, crisps, chips, junk food)

Strong

Wijlaars et al., 2011, UK [33]

n = 2,394, age: birth-3 months, 50.5% female

Longitudinal, questionnaire (PCG), child health records (Gemini study)

Health professions record of infant weight used to calculate weight standard deviation scores at birth and 3 months based on UK90 growth reference data

NS-SEC (based on occupation, maternal education qualifications)

Early life (maternal prenatal smoking, breastfeeding duration, weaning); parent-level (BMI)

Moderate