Analysis of the overweight and obesity prevention policy in Australia

Running head: HEALTHCARE
Healthcare
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Title: Analysis of the overweight and obesity prevention policy in Australia
Introduction
The term obesity can be defined as a medical condition which takes place when an
individual possesses the potential to carry excess weight as well as body fat that has the potential
to affect their health. Obesity increases the risk of developing a huge number of health conditions
namely, arthritis, metabolic syndrome as well as some types of cancer. Metabolic syndrome is a
cluster of conditions like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease.
When it comes to children, approximately, 1 out of 4 children between the age ranges of 2 years
to 17 years is found to be the sufferer of overweight or obese.
According to researchers, maintaining a healthy diet as well as exercising on a regular
basis is one of the chief ways to reduce obesity. However, in extreme cases, an individual may
need to undergo surgery in order to get rid of obesity. When it comes to obesity in Australia,
according to the 2018 statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia possesses
the third highest prevalence of overweight adults amongst the developed countries across the
world. The issue of obesity in Australia has reached the level of the epidemic. It has been found
that the chief cause of Obesity in the nation is due to poor eating habits in the country closely
associated with the high availability of fast food since the 1980s (McCauley, 2018). Along with
with this the sedentary lifestyle of the Australian residents along with decrement in the labour
workforce can be considered as other chief reasons behind the increased rate of obesity in the
nation. About 29 to 30 percent of the Australians are obese in 2017. In the year 2005, as per the
data collected by the National Health Survey, 53.6 percent of the Australians are found to
be overweight with 18 percent falling into the category of Obese. The numbers rose to 65

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percent when it comes to total percent of Australian Adults who are overweight and 29 percent
of the adults who are obese in 2016. When it comes to obesity in children, it has been evidenced
that within the last 3 years, the number of overweight children in Australia has got increased by
43 percent (Cullerton et al., 2016). The chief causes of obesity in children in Australia include
unhealthy choices of food, lack of physical activity as well as family eating habits along with
lack of physical activities. The increment in the number of overweight is highly disturbing since
it causes major health issues and has the potential to lead to social issues. Apart from health
issues, overweight children are also found to be major sufferers of psychological issues like
depression and social isolation (Hawkes et al., 2015). Considering the fact that the disease has
taken the form of epidemic in the nation, it is highly crucial to impose effective policies so that
obesity can be prevented. In this report, the guidelines and policies associated with healthy eating
and obesity in Australia will be analysed. A good number of guidelines that will be discussed in
this report include the Australian Dietary Guidelines, Health star rating guidance, Healthy food
partnership, Australia’s Physical Activity & Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines, Healthy Weight
Guide and others. This report will incorporate the goal and objectives of the policy, the decision
making parameters associated with the policy and the analysis of the issues that are being faced
while implementing the policies. Along with this recommendation for successful implementation
of the policies in order to eliminate obesity-related issues will also be discussed in this report,
Reason for choosing policy
The epidemic of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in Australia. If this continues, it
can devastate the working capability of the adults as well as the children and thus can be very

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harmful to the growth and progression of the country. The chief reason for selecting the obesity
prevention policies for conducting analysis is to find out if the policy has the potential to
effectively deal with the issue. Policy analysis can be defined as the systematic evaluation of
both the technical as well as political implications of alternatives that have been proposed for
solving issues. Thus policy analysis refers to the process of accessing the programs and
procedures. Amongst a good number of policies associated with different healthcare issues in
Australia, this policy has been chosen for analysis, keeping in mind the importance of obesity
prevention in the nation.
Summary of the policy document
In Australia, the rate of overweight, as well as obesity, has got increased over time in all
age groups. The increment of the issue of obesity has been chiefly seen in obese adults.
Overweight as well as obesity amongst children as well as adult are related to significant health
as well as economic burdens (McCauley, 2018). Vital as well as comprehensive action, including
a range of regulatory reforms, policies, projects and programs are required to curb the issues of
overweight and obesity in Australia. The obesity policy coalition in Australia has chiefly focused
on the impact on the statistics of obesity in the nation, the effect of obesity on health, causes of
overweight and obesity, impact of the issue on the economy of the nation as well as the action
needed.
Policy analysis
Policy issues
As discussed above the rates of overweights and obesity have increased significantly,
even after implementation various national and state-level policies and procedures under the