Obesity- An Australian Health Problem

This article discusses the prevalence of obesity in Australia, its adverse health effects, and strategies to prevent it. The health promotion plan is aimed at the adult Australian population who are overweight and at high risk of becoming obese. The plan involves education and awareness campaigns, workshops, and seminars conducted by health educators and healthcare professionals. The program aims to promote self-control, self-regulation, and self-management to reduce the risks of obesity.

Running head: Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Australian Public Health Problem
-Obesity
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Contents
Introduction- Obesity and its prevalence in Australia:..........................................................................2
The Health Promotion Plan:..................................................................................................................2
Target Group and Community:..............................................................................................................3
How the health promotion is beneficial to the target group:................................................................3
Goals/Aims of the health promotion plan:............................................................................................4
Public Health Promotion Management Perspective associated with the selected health promotion
plan:.......................................................................................................................................................4
Who are the stakeholders involved in the plan and why?.....................................................................4
What community consultation would be utilized in the plan and why?................................................5
The Health Promotion Message............................................................................................................6
The Health Promotional Activity and its promotion in the community:................................................6
Evaluating the success of the health promotion:...................................................................................7
Conclusion:............................................................................................................................................8
References:..........................................................................................................................................10

2Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Introduction- Obesity and its prevalence in Australia:
According to the World health Organization, Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive
accumulation of fat in the body, to an extent that can cause health risks. A crude measure for
obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI) which is the weight of the person (in kilograms) divided by the
square of their height (in meters), where a BMI above 30 is considered as Obese and BMI between
25 and 30 is considered as Overweight. Obesity is significant risk factors for a number of illnesses,
such as Diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney diseases, chronic obstructive
pulmonary diseases and cancer (Rebello et al., 2014; Guh et al., 2009). As of 2016, 650 million
people, or 13% of the world population were diagnosed as being obese, and the number of obese
cases tripled between 1975 and 2016 (World Health Organization, 2016a; 2016b). The prevalence of
obesity is more in high income and upper middle income countries, compared to lower middle and
low income countries. Amongst the high income countries, Australia has one of the highest rates of
obesity and is ranked 30th out of 34 (making it one of the bottom 3 performers among OECD
nations). According to 2016 statistics, 27.9% adults in Australia are Obese which includes a
staggering 41.7% of the indigenous population (Tolhurst et al., 2016).
The Health Promotion Plan:
The health promotion plan would be aimed to increase the awareness about the adverse
health effects of obesity as well as educate the target population on strategies to prevent obesity.
The Promotional plan will therefore involve various types of education and awareness campaigns
and workshops conducted by health educators, healthcare professionals with the support of key
stakeholders (Eldredge et al., 2016). Awareness of the adverse health effects would be imparted
through seminars and presentations that would outline the various diseases and health conditions
that can be caused because of obesity, and how that can affect the health, wellbeing and quality of
life of people. Statistical data on the prevalence of obesity and the healthcare costs as well as clinical
complexities caused by Obesity would be delineated to the target population (Edelman et al., 2017).

3Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
To educate of preventative strategies, key aspects would be focused on, such as 1) Selection of a
healthy diet, 2) Increasing physical activity and 3) Reducing the time spent in front of TV or time
spent sedentarily (Malik et al., 2014; Naidoo & Wills, 2016).
The program would mainly aim to promote self control, self regulation and self management
to reduce the risks of obesity.
Target Group and Community:
The health promotional plan would be targeted for adult Australians (above 18 years), who
have been diagnosed of being Overweight (that is, a BMI between 25 and 30), and are therefore at
highrisk of becoming obese (BMI above 30). The health promotion plan can be utilized for both
indigenous as well as non indigenous population.
How the health promotion is beneficial to the target group:
The health promotion would be aimed to both increase the awareness towards the adverse
health effects of obesity for high risk population and also educate them on strategies to prevent the
onset of obesity among them. Such a strategy can have a dual effect of helping to develop and
understanding on how obesity can adversely affect the health, and educate individuals at high risk
on strategies to prevent them, thereby empowering them with the knowledge to make informed
decisions about their lifestyle, diet and health (Martin & Nahar, 2017). The importance of such a
strategy is underpinned by the high prevalence of Obesity among the adult Australian population,
especially in the Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) communities, as well as a high
prevalence of other risk factors which increases the risks of obesity, such as the excessive
consumption of alcohol (18.2% of the adult population in Australia), insufficient physical activities
(44.5%), energy intake from junk and unhealthy food (34.6%), consumption of excessive sugar
(47.8%), heavy episodic drinking (26.4%), and high blood cholesterol (32.8%). Moreover diabetes is
one of the leading causes of illness, disability and mortality in Australia apart from cancer and

4Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Cardiovascular diseases (Lee et al., 2018; Tolhurst et al., 2016). This highlights the necessity of
effective health promotion activity that can reduce the risks of obesity in the target population.
Goals/Aims of the health promotion plan:
The main goals or aims of the project would be to:
1. Increase awareness of the target population on the adverse effects of Obesity
2. Educate on the factors that can increase the chances of obesity
3. Educate on how to control such risk factors and thereby prevent obesity
4. Prevent the onset of obesity among the target population
(Roberto et al., 2015; Puhl & Suh, 2015)
Public Health Promotion Management Perspective associated with the selected health promotion
plan:
The Public Health Promotion Management perspective that is associated with the selected
health promotion plan is the reduction in the prevalence of Obesity in the Australian population
(both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous). The goal is to achieve the 2025 targets that are identified in
the Australian Health Tracker of 2016, in the reduction of the rates of obesity and other health risks.
Also the perspectives of the Health Promotion Management Strategy would be to reduce the
prevalence of chronic condition among the Australian population due to preventable causes or risk
factors.
Who are the stakeholders involved in the plan and why?
Within the community based health promotion program for Obesity education and
prevention, involvement of several key stakeholders is a necessity to ensure the success of the
program. The stakeholders can include:

5Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
i. The Public Health Department: They can help in the assessment of the public health and
supporting the health promotion activities. Also authorization needs to be sought from the Public
health Department for the health promotion plan.
ii. Local Health Education Centers: They can help to support the activities related to education and
increasing awareness of the target population and communities.
iii. Cultural Groups: They can help to implement the promotional plan in specific cultural setting, and
help to understand the cultural expectations and competencies needed to address them.
iv. Family Support Groups and Social Service: They can help to support the families suffering from
obesity or overweight issues, and help them to use the knowledge from the health promotion
programs.
v. Healthcare Providers: They can support the promotional program by providing information on the
adverse health effects of obesity, factors that increase the risks of obesity and strategies to avoid
them.
vi. Elected Officials: Elected administrative officials can also help by fostering the participation of the
community members in the program.
vii. Media: Involvement of media can further help to increase the reach of the health promotional
message to the larger public through digital and printed media.
(Korn, 2018; McGlashan et al., 2018)
What community consultation would be utilized in the plan and why?
The community consultation that would take place in this health promotion plan includes:
1. Informing the community on the adverse effects of Obesity and the factors that can increase the
risks of obesity

6Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
2. Consulting individuals at high risk of obesity on healthy lifestyle choices (such as selecting healthy
diet, regular physical exercises, reducing sedentary behavior and excessive consumption of alcohol).
3. Helping individuals suffering from Obesity to better understand the lifestyle risks thereby
supporting better lifestyle choice for them.
(Wolfenden, 2014)
The Health Promotion Message
“Fighting Obesity through Self Control and Self Management- Do not let your lifestyle and diets ruin
your health”
The Health Promotional Activity and its promotion in the community:
The Health promotion activity would be conducted within Community settings (either in an
Indigenous or Non-Indigenous community), focused on the development of self control, self
regulation and self management, that will allow individuals at high risk of obesity to make healthier
choices in regards to their diet, lifestyle and physical activities (Kelder et al., 2015; Wing et al., 2016).
Seminars and presentations would be conducted with the target population, to educate
them on how Obesity can increase the risks of other diseases such as Hypertension, Cardio vascular
Diseases, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, Diabetes type 2, Hypertension, Kidney Diseases
and cancer. Also, factors (such as lack of adequate physical activity, excessive consumption of
unhealthy and junk food, excessive consumption of sugar and sugar sweetened beverages, excessive
alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking, high blood cholesterol and unhealthy lifestyle
choices) which increases the risks of obesity would also be elucidated to the target population in
order to help them understand the risk factors completely (Wilksch et al., 2015). At this stage,
healthcare providers and health education professionals can be involved to ensure the best and
most effective transmission of knowledge.

7Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
After the seminars and presentations, the participants would be quickly assessed to
understand how much they have understood the key concepts and to identify any lacunae in their
understanding, which can be addressed in subsequent seminars. Once the target population has
been educated on the risk factors and adverse effects, strategies to prevent obesity would be
outlined during the workshops. In these workshops, the high risk participants would be educated on
various important strategies to prevent obesity. These strategies would include:
a) Eating 5-6 servings of fruits and vegetables daily
b) Choosing whole grain food and food with lots of dietary fiber
c) Considering the portion size of the food
d) Reducing the consumption of junk food, sugar sweetened beverages and diet high on fats
e) Physical activities that a participant can use to maximize the burning of calories
f) Reducing sedentary time and time spent in front of the TV
g) Improving self control to kick the bad habits like uncontrolled consumption
h) Improving self regulation and self management to maintain the healthy diet and lifestyle
(Hawkes et al., 2015; Cominato et al., 2018)
In the program, key aspects such as the BMI of the participants would be monitored at a
regular basis, along with other aspects such as the time spent in moderate to heavy physical
activities, and the regular diet of each participant. The aim is to identify any changes or
improvements in such aspects and understand whether the health promotional plan is effective with
the target population. The program would also be advertised through digital and printed media, in
order to spread the awareness and education as far as possible.
Evaluating the success of the health promotion:

8Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Evaluation of the health promotion strategies can be done in the following ways:
1. Reduction in the mean BMI of the population
2. Reducing or preventing the onset of obesity in the target population
3. Increase in the proportion of adults meeting the guidelines on healthy diet and physical activities
(Leslie et al., 2015; Hawkes et al., 2015)
Quantitative evaluation can be done by comparing the baseline data with the data collected
during and after the program, which would include the BMI, daily physical activity, servings of
vegetables and fruits consumed daily and time spent in front of television daily. However, the main
data that can be focused on is the BMI and mean BMI would help to understand if the program is
effective in reducing the body mass, and thus help to prevent obesity among Overweight individuals.
On a population level, the success of the program can be analyzed through changes in the rates of
Obesity and its related co morbidities in the communities as well as a reduction in the factors which
increases the risks of obesity (Ogden et al., 2015; Yang & Colditz, 2015).
Conclusion:
Obesity is a significant health risk that inflicts millions of people worldwide, and it increases
the risks of several other health risks such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, CVD, COPD and kidney
diseases. The risks of obesity in turn are greatly increased because of several avoidable factors such
as unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption, insufficient physical activity or too much
sedentary time. The aim of the health promotion project is to raise awareness about the factors that
increases the risks of obesity and how obesity can lead to other health conditions. The project also
aims to educate the target population on strategies to prevent the onset of obesity and on healthy
lifestyle choices that can promote their health and well being. The program is aimed for the Adult
Australian population who are overweight, and thus at high risk of becoming obese. The program

9Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
would be conducted in the form of seminars, presentations and workshops that would provide an
understanding of the risk factors and effects of obesity as well as gain a strategic knowledge to
prevent obesity. The effectiveness of the program can be assessed by the positive changes (such as
reduction in the BMI) in the target population at the completion of the program and thus by an
overall improvement in the health of the target population.

10Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
References:
Cominato, L., Di Biagio, G. F., Lellis, D., Franco, R. R., Mancini, M. C., & de Melo, M. E. (2018). Obesity
Prevention: Strategies and Challenges in Latin America. Current obesity reports, 7(2), 97-104.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0311-1
Edelman, C. L., Mandle, C. L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2017). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span-E-
Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=QwMvDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Health+Promotion+Throughout+the+
Life+Span-E-Book.+Elsevier+Health+Sciences.&ots=osXr7r7nvo&sig=JCCbsfE8vT-
GGqjSbBMFr7SjBYg
Eldredge, L. K. B., Markham, C. M., Ruiter, R. A., Kok, G., & Parcel, G. S. (2016). Planning health
promotion programs: an intervention mapping approach. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved
from: https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=UyrdCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=Planning+health+promotion+program
s:+an+intervention+mapping+approach.+John+Wiley+
%26+Sons.&ots=Od6v_DJPuv&sig=8gsQ3YSKce9ilIUQ2hYXptroHk4#v=onepage&q=Planning
%20health%20promotion%20programs%3A%20an%20intervention%20mapping
%20approach.%20John%20Wiley%20%26%20Sons.&f=false
Guh, D. P., Zhang, W., Bansback, N., Amarsi, Z., Birmingham, C. L., & Anis, A. H. (2009). The incidence
of co-morbidities related to obesity and overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
BMC public health, 9(1), 88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-88
Hawkes, C., Smith, T. G., Jewell, J., Wardle, J., Hammond, R. A., Friel, S., ... & Kain, J. (2015). Smart
food policies for obesity prevention. The Lancet, 385(9985), 2410-2421. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61745-1

11Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Kelder, S. H., Hoelscher, D., & Perry, C. L. (2015). How individuals, environments, and health
behaviors interact. Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice, 159. DOI:
https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=PhUWCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA159&dq=How+individuals,+environments,
+and+health+behaviors+interact.+Health+behavior:+Theory,+research,+and+practice,
+159&ots=-doPcVGiCJ&sig=FEpUhYj32bM615Xo-lb84FJCsuQ#v=onepage&q=How
%20individuals%2C%20environments%2C%20and%20health%20behaviors%20interact.
%20Health%20behavior%3A%20Theory%2C%20research%2C%20and%20practice%2C
%20159&f=false
Korn, A. R., Hennessy, E., Hammond, R. A., Allender, S., Gillman, M. W., Kasman, M., ... & Swinburn,
B. (2018). Development and testing of a novel survey to assess Stakeholder-driven
Community Diffusion of childhood obesity prevention efforts. BMC public health, 18(1), 681.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5588-1
Lee, C. M. Y., Goode, B., Nørtoft, E., Shaw, J. E., Magliano, D. J., & Colagiuri, S. (2018). The cost of
diabetes and obesity in Australia. Journal of medical economics, (just-accepted), 1-11.
Leslie, E., Magery, A., Olds, T., Ratcliffe, J., Jones, M., & Cobiac, L. (2015). Community-based obesity
prevention in Australia: background, methods and recruitment outcomes for the evaluation
of the effectiveness of OPAL (Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle). Retrieved from:
https://www.longdom.org/articles/communitybased-obesity-prevention-in-australia-
backgroundmethods-and-recruitment-outcomes-for-the-evaluation-of-the-effe.pdf
Malik, S. H., Blake, H., & Suggs, L. S. (2014). A systematic review of workplace health promotion
interventions for increasing physical activity. British journal of health psychology, 19(1), 149-
180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052

12Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Martin, B., & Nahar, V. K. (2017). Book Review: Theoretical Foundations of Health Education and
Health Promotion. Perspectives in public health, 137(6), 348. Retrieved from:
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P4-1957043031/book-review-theoretical-
foundations-of-health-education
McGlashan, J., Nichols, M., Korn, A., Millar, L., Marks, J., Sanigorski, A., ... & Economos, C. (2018).
Social network analysis of stakeholder networks from two community-based obesity
prevention interventions. PloS one, 13(4), e0196211. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196211
Naidoo, J., & Wills, J. (2016). Foundations for Health Promotion-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=OkHdCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Foundations+for+Health+Promotion-
E-Book.
+Elsevier+Health+Sciences&ots=yjjvAJuOoj&sig=G0CzczesDhWeICSyjkhn2_6mI3c#v=onepag
e&q=Foundations%20for%20Health%20Promotion-E-Book.%20Elsevier%20Health
%20Sciences&f=false
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Flegal, K. M. (2015). Prevalence of obesity among adults
and youth: United States, 2011-2014 (pp. 1-8). Washington, DC: US Department of Health
and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health
Statistics. Retrieved from: htuneup.com/diseases/d_overweight.pdf
Puhl, R., & Suh, Y. (2015). Health consequences of weight stigma: implications for obesity prevention
and treatment. Current Obesity Reports, 4(2), 182-190. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0153-z

13Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
Rebello, C. J., Greenway, F. L., & Finley, J. W. (2014). A review of the nutritional value of legumes and
their effects on obesity and its related co morbidities.‐ Obesity Reviews, 15(5), 392-407. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12144
Roberto, C. A., Swinburn, B., Hawkes, C., Huang, T. T., Costa, S. A., Ashe, M., ... & Brownell, K. D.
(2015). Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and
new thinking. The Lancet, 385(9985), 2400-2409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-
6736(14)61744-X
Tolhurst, P., Lindberg, R., Calder, R., & de Courten, M. (2016). Australia's Health Tracker 2016: A
report card on preventable chronic diseases, conditions and their risk factors: Tracking
progress for a healthier Australia by 2025. Retrieved from:
http://vuir.vu.edu.au/33357/1/australias-health-tracker-overview_1.pdf
Wilksch, S. M., Paxton, S. J., Byrne, S. M., Austin, S. B., McLean, S. A., Thompson, K. M., ... & Wade, T.
D. (2015). Prevention across the spectrum: A randomized controlled trial of three programs
to reduce risk factors for both eating disorders and obesity. Psychological Medicine, 45(9),
1811-1823. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171400289X
Wing, R. R., Tate, D. F., Espeland, M. A., Lewis, C. E., LaRose, J. G., Gorin, A. A., ... & Garcia, K. R.
(2016). Innovative self-regulation strategies to reduce weight gain in young adults: the study
of novel approaches to weight gain prevention (SNAP) randomized clinical trial. JAMA
internal medicine, 176(6), 755-762. Retrieved from:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2517921
Wolfenden, L., Wyse, R., Nichols, M., Allender, S., Millar, L., & McElduff, P. (2014). A systematic
review and meta-analysis of whole of community interventions to prevent excessive
population weight gain. Preventive medicine, 62, 193-200. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.01.031

14Obesity- An Australian Health Problem
World Health Organization. (2016a). Obesity and overweight [Internet]. Fact sheet, 311. Retrieved
from: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
World Health Organization. (2016b). World Health Organization obesity and overweight fact sheet.
Yang, L., & Colditz, G. A. (2015). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 2007-
2012. JAMA internal medicine, 175(8), 1412-1413. Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/

15Obesity- An Australian Health Problem