Grant Proposal for Obesity Prevention and Control in South Australia

Running head: OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Grant Proposal for Obesity Prevention and Control in South Australia
Name
Institution

OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background Information..................................................................................................................4
Needs Analysis................................................................................................................................5
Aims and Objectives........................................................................................................................6
Aim...............................................................................................................................................6
Objectives.....................................................................................................................................7
Proposed Action Plan......................................................................................................................9
Whole of Community Approach..................................................................................................9
Multi-Sectorial...........................................................................................................................10
Multi-Component Approach......................................................................................................10
Anticipated Outcomes and Significance........................................................................................11
Evaluation Plan..............................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
References......................................................................................................................................18

OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 3
Executive Summary
Obesity in Australia has been on the rise over the last few decades. According to the
latest national survey, the prevalence of obesity in the country is 63.7% indicating that about 2
thirds of the adult population is overweight. Approximately 70% of these obese adult people
suffer from one or the other weight related complication, diseases and conditions. The burden of
healthcare for these individuals is increased by more than 30 % due to the high rates of illnesses
such as cardiac problems, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure
and musculoskeletal diseases. Going by states, South Australia leads with a prevalence of 65.4%
which is slightly higher than the national average. The Heart Foundation estimates that 70 % of
residents of Northern Adelaide, South Australia are obese. The foundation submits that 72 % of
the population of Northern Metropolitan Adelaide does not engage in physical exercises. This
background has been used in the paper to present the needs analysis and rationale for creating an
intervention plan for prevention and control of obesity in the Northern Adelaide, South Australia.
The action plan is triple faceted; multi-sectorial, multi-component and whole of community.
Behavioral change (active lifestyle and right dietary choices) is the anticipated outcome which is
significant in achieving the objectives of the intervention plan. An evaluation of the intervention
is finally provided to help assess the performance of the initiative.
Introduction
Obesity is a medical condition where the body mass index of the person is greater than
30. Morbid obesity hampers the normal physiological functioning of the body and predisposes
one to other related illnesses and conditions. Obesity is a major public health concern in

OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 4
Australia; over 60 % of the country’s adult population is obese (Hartmann-Boyce et al., 2015).
10 of these individuals are severely obese. More than half of the country’s general population is
overweight. The state of South Australia is the most affected. In 2018, 65.4% of adult South
Australians were reported as either overweight or obese. The Local Health Network estimates
that the Northern Adelaide accounts for most of the cases of obesity in South Australia with a
prevalence of 70.7% (ObeNghiem & Khanam 2016). There have been interventions and health
promotion initiatives in the state of South Australia such as OPAL which targets obesity control
and prevention but the success rate has been minimal. This paper intends to bridge the gap by
conducting a needs analysis leading to development of a health promotion proposal to curb
obesity in South Australia, specifically in Northern Adelaide. The objectives of the plan are
outlined in the paper alongside the action plan for realizing the set goals. An evaluation plan for
the intervention is the presented.
Background Information
Approximately 70% of Australia’s’ obese adult population is suffering from one or the
other weight related complication, diseases and conditions (Malakellis et al., 2017). As a result
the cost of healthcare for these individuals is increased by more than 30 % due to the high rates
of illnesses such as cardiac problems, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, high blood
pressure and musculoskeletal diseases (Sainsbury et al., 2018). The leading cause of death in
Australia is cardiovascular conditions; 22 % of Australians suffer from the condition. In effect,
obesity is a leading cause for morbidity in the country and claims more lives than any other

OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5
condition. The risk of developing obesity in Australian men is 14.5% higher than that of women
which stands at 56.3% (McNaughton 2015).
The rates of obesity among Australian children are appalling. Between the ages of 5 and
17, 1 in every 4 children is reported obese or overweight. The prevalence of obesity in South
Australia is worse than the national average. Over 63.7% of the state’s adult population is obese.
The metropolitan area of Northern Adelaide leads South Australia State with prevalence of
65.4% (Demaio 2018). The last two decades have seen the rise in the prevalence of obesity in
both the state of South Australia and the metropolitan Northern Adelaide as reported by the
Local Health Network. So what is the cause of this problem? According to the Heart Foundation,
72.5% of the residents of the Metropolitan Northern Adelaide do not exercise at all. Their access
to healthy foods is limited and more importantly, most people simply do not make healthy eating
decisions (Sturgiss et al., 2018). The foundation has called on the state and federal governments
to intervene in the inactivity of the state as it is causing unprecedented health risks.
This paper notes that there is sufficient scholarly work that has been undertaken with a
view to establishing the rates of obesity among Australians and Southern Australians in
particular. However, there is a gap of knowledge with regards to the health promotion
interventions to bring down the prevalence of obesity in this community (MacKay 2011). This
paper targets to bridge this gap by looking at existing literature on obesity control and prevention
so as to design an intervention that responds to the gaps. The paper also discusses a mechanism
for evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention in controlling obesity.

OBESITY PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 6
Needs Analysis
The needs analysis presents the need for this health promotion intervention. It derives
from the situation of obesity which then creates the need to control the condition. A few fast
facts about obesity in Australia are testament to the need for a health promotion intervention. The
starting point is the national average prevalence of the country which stands at 63% of the adult
population making Australia one of the countries with the highest obese populations (Lacy et al.,
2015). This represents about 11.2 million obese people. The proportion of obese adults has
increased with time. Children are not doing any better; about 1.2 million of them are obese too.
Recent studies show that among the OECD countries, Australia’s fast food consumption patterns
and trends are some of the highest. South Australia leads with the highest prevalence and some
of the most inactive people in the country reside in the metropolitan area of Northern Adelaide
(Phillipov 2013).
There have been a number of interventions in the state of South Australia just like most
parts of the country to bring down the rates of obesity. Examples like the Obesity Prevention and
Lifestyle program can be mentioned. It is noteworthy that despite the efforts of these
interventions, the prevalence of obesity continues to be high in the state of South Australia
(Sonntag et al., 2018). There is therefore need for coming up with an intervention that does not
merely respond to the problem, but puts in place proactive measures to prevent the development
of obesity in South Australia.