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Table 1 WDoH Coding Descriptions

From: A secondary analysis of the childhood obesity prevention Cochrane Review through a wider determinants of health lens: implications for research funders, researchers, policymakers and practitioners

Level

Description

Biological Factors (BF)

i.e. the influence of genetic make-up.

Biological Factors relate to the genetic factors which people are born with – including sex, ethnicity, age and hereditary factors.

Interventions often seek to change the physiological functioning of individuals (e.g. pharmacotherapy, metabolic and bariatric surgery).

Individual Lifestyle Factors (ILF)

i.e. the influence of our behaviours.

Individual Lifestyle Factors relate to behaviours undertaken by individuals and/or their parents/immediate family – for example, smoking, drinking alcohol, dietary consumption, and being active.

Interventions often seek to modify the behaviours that individuals, parents or the immediate family make – often through educational programmes, awareness raising (e.g. weight management programmes, behaviour change interventions, physical activity sessions).

Social and Community Factors (SCF)

i.e. the influence from the people around us.

Social and Community Factors relate to the influence of our relationships with those around us (excluding immediate family) on an individual’s health status or their lifestyle behaviours – including neighbours, school friends, work colleagues, faith groups and other social groups.

Interventions often seek to change the characteristics and norms of social networks (e.g. training influential peers, increasing capacity within local communities around health-promotion).

Living and Working Conditions (LWC)

i.e. the influence of where people live, work, and age.

Living and Working Conditions are conditions that people spend their daily lives within – for example, their work environments, the quality of their housing, access to education and training, transportation options and links, and their access to good health care.

Interventions often seek to change the health offering of peoples’ living and working conditions / environments (e.g. improving the school environment around mental health, incentivising fast food outlets to improve the health-content of their food, improving healthcare professional knowledge around obesity, amending working hours).

Wider Conditions (WC)

i.e. the influence of the conditions that govern our daily lives.

Wider Conditions are the broader socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors – including how land is used, general levels of disposable income, taxation, and wider areas of political governance.

Interventions often seek to change the structures and policies that impact the places in which people live, work, and age at a societal level. For example, subsidising sustainable transport options, increasing access to good quality, affordable homes, legislating around fast food marketing to children, and policies against high calorie, low nutrient food and drink.