Mitigating Obesity in Australia: Policy Brief

This policy brief discusses the prevalence, causes, and health threats of obesity in Australia. It also proposes various approaches to prevent and reduce obesity in the Australian population. The brief recommends legislative and policy approaches, encouraging physical activity, establishment of healthcare interventions, and health communication. The government is urged to consider obesity as a national crisis and implement all proposals without passing the financial burden to the ordinary citizens.

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Policy Brief
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Policy Brief
Part A
Obesity is typically a complex health issue to mitigate. Apart from individualized
preventative measures, its mitigation also requires state or governmental assistance. Remarkably,
obesity is caused by a combination of various factors which include personal factors like genetics
and behavior factors such as medication use, physical inactivity, and dietary patterns.
Obesity has been prevalent in Australia for many years. It is a core public health concern
which is amongst the leading factors which result in ill-health in the Australian population. The
ailment is basically a medical disorder in which excess fats in the body accumulate to a point
where it can result in negative effects on a person’s health.1 It is important to note that obesity is
of national concern because it can affect any person regardless of his or her socioeconomic
status. The medical condition of an individual can contribute to the development of life-
threatening conditions. The disorder is currently classified as a chronic illness like other diseases
such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. Therefore, it is imperative for the health minister to
consider the prevention and treatment of this clinical condition. Moreover, all appropriate
medical procedures ought to be developed and adequately implemented to reduce the effects of
the disease.
Notably, contemporary research reveals that obesity has been prevalent in Australia and
has resulted in disability and death of many people. For instance, in 2014 and 2015,
approximately 25% of Australian adolescents and children aged between two and seventeen
years were obese; that is about 1.2 million adolescents and children. Subsequently, during the
same period, almost 63% or two-thirds of adult Australians aged above eighteen years were
obese, that is, approximately 11.2 million adults.2 Therefore, this increase in obesity ought to

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necessitate the health minister to initiate and implement diverse techniques and suitable
proposals which can mitigate this problem.
Obesity is caused by various factors. Poor diet is one of the major aspects that make
people obese. Typically, obesity cannot happen overnight. It develops progressively in the course
of time due to adoption of poor diet. In the same vein, life choices, for example, consuming fast
or unprocessed foods which have high amounts of sugars and fats may cause obesity.3 Similarly,
taking alcohol and sugary drinks like fruit juice frequently also make people be at risk of
becoming obese. Sugary drinks and alcohol have a lot of calories. Comfort eating especially
when people eat because they feel depressed or have low self-esteem could also result in
increased body weight.
Subsequently, reduced or lack of physical activity can also cause obesity. Many people
have jobs which involve less physical activities, rely on cars, and watch television for relaxation,
therefore, completely avoiding exercise. The energy which is produced by the food that people
eat is not utilized if they do not get involved in physical activity. As such, additional energy is
stored mostly as body fat. Therefore, it is recommended that people conduct approximately two
hours of moderate aerobic activities like walking and cycling every week.
Consequently, genetic related factors contribute to people’s obesity. Genetic conditions
like Prader-Willi syndrome increases chances of being obese. Inheritance of genetic
characteristics from parents, for instance, having an abnormally increased appetite might make
losing weight much difficult. On the other hand, medical reasons also contribute to increased
body weight. For instance, hypothyroidism, where people have slightly underactive thyroid
glands, is a significant cause of obesity. The thyroid gland of persons that have the condition
does not produce adequate hormones.4 Cushing’s syndrome, an unusual medical disorder, which

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causes overproduction of steroid hormones contributes to obesity. Nonetheless, if the above
medical situations are appropriately diagnosed and suitable medication provided, they ought to
cause no barrier in regards to weight loss. Some medicines like corticosteroids, antidepressants
and those for diabetes, epilepsy, mental illness and schizophrenia can also lead to weight gain.
Obesity intensifies the probability of diverse ailments specifically diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases, depression, osteoarthritis, some cancers and obstructive sleep apnea.
Obesity, therefore, lowers life expectancy if it is not well managed. The medical condition also
increases the likelihood of most mental and physical clinical conditions. The comorbidities are
usually commonly revealed in metabolic syndrome.5 Metabolic syndrome is normally a
combination of clinical disorders that include high triglyceride level, increased blood cholesterol,
blood pressure.
Obesity causes health threats which can be classified into two categories. First, obesity
causes health hazards which are attributable to effects of raised fat mass like osteoarthritis and
social stigmatization. Additionally, it also causes those medical situations which result due to
increased fat cells such as cancer and diabetes. The increase in fats in the body interferes with the
body’s ability to respond to insulin possibly causing insulin resistance.
Obese individuals are the risk of getting various types of cancers. Males face the threat of
getting neoplasms for the prostate, rectum, and colon. Contrariwise, overweight women risk
getting cancers of the gallbladder, endometrium and reproductive system .6 Additionally, it is
also important to note that endometrial cancer is caused by the overproduction of estrogens
particularly by stromal cells found in the adipose tissue.
Obesity results in endocrine changes like experiencing irregular menses. Overweight
causes amenorrhea and increases chances of cesarean section and infertility. On the contrary,

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obesity is also associated with societal and economic consequences apart from health concerns.8
Medical costs related to obesity may be either indirect or direct. Direct costs include treatment,
diagnostic, preventive services. Nevertheless, indirect costs are associated with mortality and
morbidity costs.
Part B
There are various approaches that the can be utilized to aid in the prevention and
reduction of obesity in the Australian population. However, the approaches have to sufficiently
involve the people because they are the ones affected by obesity. The health ministry would
consider using the legislative and policy approach to champion for the formulation of relevant
laws which will aim at mitigating obesity. Increased acknowledgment that obesity is a national
health crisis will encourage regulatory, policy and legislative transformations.9, 10 The
government aims to ensure that citizens are healthy. It must, therefore, initiate measures to
reduce intake of sugary drinks, energy-concentrated foods and other substances that have high
levels of calories. There are some of the legislative and policy approaches applicable like
reducing the availability of the products in specific environments like schools. Other significant
techniques are ensuring price increases or high taxes to discourage the consumption of the food
substances likely to cause obesity. Another policy or legislative measure will be ordering the
reduction of the sugar or calorie level in the specific foods.
Consequently, the government through the health minister would encourage people’s
participation in physical activities through various ways. The government ought to incorporate
important policies and legislation such as funding for parks, bike paths and safe routes to
workplace or schools. Therefore, people can engage in various activities in the parks making
them reduce some calories.11 Safe Routes to workplaces and schools will motivate people to walk

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to school or work which is essential to their health. Funding for bike paths will urge people to
engage in cycling activities and consequently reduce chances of being overweight. The
government can restructure the education curriculum and include more time for students to
partake in physical activities to improve their health.
The health ministry would ensure that there are the establishment and subsequent
implementation of diverse healthcare interventions to aid socioeconomically underprivileged
families to steer clear obesity. First, all obesity prevention programs offered by health
institutions should be made free or subsidized to make them affordable to the socioeconomically
disadvantaged people. Screening to make sure that there is early detection of medical conditions,
anticipatory guidance, and consequent healthcare promotion is usually the basis of all successful
preventative health-related programs.12 It should, therefore, be a requirement that the screening
of all children aged below eighteen years is made compulsory and free. Subsequent preventative
counseling concerning the appropriate physical activity and diet ought to be recommended by
health experts to help prevent obesity.
The ministry would also ensure that there is adequate health communication and relevant
marketing of the proposed obesity mitigation approaches. All techniques and strategies to steer
clear obesity have to be enhanced through suitable marketing, communication and promotion.
For instance, the government can sponsor television advertisements in regards to the subsided
obesity prevention techniques offered by medical centers.
The health minister ought to utilize the health nutrition approach. The minister can
encourage people to adopt healthy eating routines. Additionally, this can be done through the
provision of relevant advice by healthcare institutions. Austrian citizens should ensure that
consume diets which have low starches and sugars. Reducing such foods lowers people’s

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appetite, therefore, they end up consuming fewer calories.13 Another benefit of minimizing carbs
intake is that it reduces insulin levels making the kidneys to eliminate excess water and sodium
from a person’s body. Subsequently, this lowers bloat and needless water weight. The nutrition
approach will ensure that Australian citizens consume vegetables and protein, therefore,
lowering weight gain. Frequent intake of proteins boosts body metabolism. Diets rich in protein
also lower cravings about food.
The minister should encourage people to consider incorporating various aspects into their
lives to steer clear obesity. People should have frequent physical activity sessions. Such activities
include weight lifting, walking, jogging, and cycling. Other activities like stress reduction and
having sufficient sleep time aid in lowering obesity. The utilization of advertisement by the
health facilities sponsored by the government can aid create awareness in regards to all the
proposed measures. The minister should make sure that the government subsidizes research
concerning obesity as a measure to reduce it.
Part C
The government will spend a lot of resources, especially money in ensuring that all the
proposals geared towards reducing obesity are put in place. The proposals may translate to
increased taxation, however, the government has devised substantive methods of colleting
enough revenue. Notably, some policymakers could argue that the obesity mitigation
mechanisms would not help the socioeconomically disadvantaged people because they will
receive free advice from health facilities, enjoy the appropriate environment created by the
government to lower obesity, and get incorporated into weight reduction programs.14
Nevertheless, the health ministry would advise the government from imposing high taxes to
adequately fund obesity mitigation programs, however, come up with proper and convenient

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mechanisms of collecting tax . The government should consider obesity as a national crisis since
it is a chronic illness, therefore, implement all proposal without passing the financial burden to
the ordinary citizens.
Some policymakers might perceive the usage of a lot of resources to ensure a healthy
population by preventing obesity as a waste of time. Some might propose that people should
have health insurance programs. However, persons who are underprivileged socioeconomically
could be unable to have insurance covers. The health minister should urge the policymakers on
the significance of ensuring that people are healthy. On the other hand, the provision of free
obesity screening services by the government will cause overcrowding in hospitals.15 The
overcrowding might make the diagnosis of other chronic illnesses difficult. The minister can
advise the government to make sure that obesity mitigation services are provided in all health
facilities to avoid overcrowding in specific hospitals.
It is important to acknowledge that both citizens and lawmakers might be opposed to
some of the proposals recommended by the health docket. For instance, encouraging people to
adopt certain meals in their diets and avoid others seems unachievable. On a similar note, urging
Australian citizens to ensure they participate in physical activities may appear like it is not a
serious plan and is only a wish list as opposed to a relevant action plan.16 However, it is
important for everyone to eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, avoid alcohol consumption and
smoking, and practice a healthy living. Notably, the health ministry would help in eliminating
such negative ideas by continuously reminding the people that any action proposed or
implemented by the government aims at improving their health. Therefore, it would be important
for every citizen to implement any policy recommended by the government through the health
ministry since these policies are arrived at after thorough research.

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