Project Plan to Address Overweight and Obesity in Brimbank City

Project Plan 1
Project Plan
Name
Professor
Institution
Course
City, State
Date

Project Plan 2
Project Focus
Outline of health Issue
Overweight or obesity is one of the top ten health issues in the City of Brimbank,
which is one of the 31 local government areas (LGAs) in Melbourne. Compared to the other
LGAs, the city is the 8th highest in the prevalence of overweight or obesity and on 6th position
for diabetes, whose incidence is linked to being overweight or obese (Eime et al. 2014). The
high prevalence of overweight or obesity and associated comorbidities can be linked to poor
physical activity engagement among the people in the area as indicated by poor ratings in
meeting the different thresholds for physical activity and sport participation. The World
Health Organization (WHO) (2018) states that overweight ad obesity is a major risk factor for
non-communicable diseases, which include, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
musculoskeletal disorders, and some cancers. An unhealthy population is characterized by
unhealthy children population; hence, an unhealthy children population characterized by
childhood obesity results in adulthood obesity, and associate comorbidities, disabilities, and
death. Addressing the issue of overweight and obesity, therefore, is important as it is meant to
aid in the attainment of healthy body sizes and associated composition to prevent
comorbidities, some of which result in death.
Identified Need and Policy Framework
A program is needed to address the issue of overweight and obesity in the city of
Brimbank because the city performs poorly in the following health and physical activity
indicators:
a. Overweight or obesity;
b. Diabetes;
c. Psychological distress;
d. Socio-economic status;

Project Plan 3
e. Adherence to physical activity guidelines;
f. Leisure time physical activity and its associated domains;
g. Participation in sports;
h. Presence of facilities and associated sport infrastructure to hold sport activities.
The prevalence of overweight or obesity in Brimbank is 52.2%, affecting more than half of
the population in this city. Type 2 diabetes is the main type of diabetes in the region as it
constitutes 85% to 90% of all diabetes cases (Eime et al. 2014). An individual’s physical
health is synergistically linked to his or her mental health. Thereby, by improving the
population’s health, the prevalence of psychological distress is bound to decrease. Brimbank
has the highest prevalence if psychological distress compared to the other regions in Victoria:
Western Melbourne, Melbourne, and Victoria Country. Socio-economic status is a paramount
determinant of health because lack of adequate resources results in poor access to health,
resulting in poor health outcomes. The fact that a large percentage of the population is
unhealthy could be linked to the population’s low socioeconomic status because an unhealthy
population does not thrive and prosper (Leung & Brackett n. d.; Victoria Health Promotion
Foundation 2013).
In all but one indicator for physical activity and sport, the City of Brimbank has low
rankings compared to the LGAs in Melbourne. The indicator, time spent sitting, which a
negative marker for overweight or obesity, the city of Melbourne was second lowest, but the
others, for example, existence of recreational grounds like sports facilities and playing fields
and courts, the city of Brimbank ranked the lowest (Eime et al. 2014). Other than physical
activity, diet is important and it includes use of tobacco and consumption of alcohol. The
people of Brimbank do not meet the recommended dietary intakes for fruits and vegetables,
which are essential in weight control as they are low in calories but high in micronutrients.

Project Plan 4
Among the social determinants of health, education is one of them. Education is
paramount among the residents of Brimbank because they only seek health services when it is
too late. As a result, they do not benefit from preventive health services that mainly involve
education and associated screening tests. Leung and Brackett (n. d.) assert the essence of
education in improving health outcomes.
Thereby, in the city of Brimbank, the current project will come in handy as it aims to
provide preventive healthcare services at no cost. The project will be aligned to the
Australian Health Policy Collaboration constituting of Victoria University and the City of
Brimbank whose educational initiative is meant to help the people make healthy life choices
(Leung and Brackett, n. d.). A lack of access to health services is linked to the high rates of
hospitalization and diabetes because individuals do not actively engage in the right
interventions to prevent diabetes and seek timely help to prevent advancement of health
conditions.
Project Stakeholders
Project stakeholders are the persons that are actively involved in the successful
implementation of a project and whose interest might be affected by the project either
positively or negatively (Pries and Quigley 2013). The project manager and his or her
subordinate project team members, community gate keepers, beneficiaries, donors, policy
makers, suppliers, media presenters, health care providers from the selected hospitals, and
teachers from selected academic institutions, will all be part of the stakeholders. Each
stakeholder will have distinct responsibilities, but in some instances, two stakeholders, for
example, community mobilizers, will have the same roles.
The project targets the entire population within the City of Brimbank with a special
focus on overweight or obesity. Overweight or obesity is a risk factor for various non-
communicable diseases, and considering that there are various modifiable determinants of