Analysis of Childhood Obesity in Queensland, Australia: A Report

This report focuses on the critical issue of childhood obesity in Queensland, Australia, with a specific emphasis on the disproportionately affected Aboriginal community. It highlights the significant gap in health status between indigenous and non-indigenous populations, attributing this disparity to factors such as inadequate Aboriginal governance and policies. The report delves into the impact of childhood obesity, including its effects on children's emotional, social, and physical well-being, as well as its economic consequences. It identifies key areas for change, such as improving existing policies, increasing healthcare workforce, and enhancing collaboration with parents. A health promotion action plan is proposed, involving targeted interventions in remote schools, culturally sensitive programs, and the deployment of healthcare professionals from the indigenous community. The primary objective is to engage the entire community in promoting changes in eating habits, physical activity, and overall lifestyle to mitigate the effects of childhood obesity.

Obesity and Community
Children
Childhood Obesity in Queensland, Australia
• One of the most severe public health challenges in Australia is of
childhood obesity.
• The most critically affected population is of the Aboriginals, creating a
gap of over 16% in the health status between the indigenous and non-
indigenous community (Sherriff et al., 2019).
• Lack of proper Aboriginal governance and policies are the primary
concerns leading to increase in the gap of the health status.
• The rates of childhood obesity amongst the indigenous community in
Queensland is higher at 30% than the state average of 26% (Queensland
Health., 2020).
Impact of Childhood Obesity
 Incidence of childhood obesity affects the emotional, social and
physical well-being of the children, leading to poor self-esteem and
lower quality of life.
 Childhood Obesity is linked with economic adverse impact on the
community, with increase in the spending on treatment of health
conditions stroke, hypertension, asthma, type 2 diabetes, coronary
heart disease (CHD), hypercholesterolemia, and arthritis (Black, Hughes
& Jones, 2018).
 Increase of immediate health risks in the population such as of
cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, glucose tolerance
impairment and diabetes are long-term consequences of childhood
obesity on the population.
Key Areas for Change to Reduce Childhood Obesity
 Changes in the existing programs and policies associated with
Australian Child Obesity for the children from Aboriginal
community.
 Increasing the healthcare workforce for the Aboriginals and Torres
Strait Islander people.
 Increased collaboration of parents with the consultation programs
to ensure usability and applicability of the resources provided to
the community.
Health Promotion Action Plan
 To improve the collaboration of the parents with health
consultation programs, the remote schools will be targeted.
 Professional staffs will be deployed in these schools with
adequate funding to conduct health development sessions with
the children and parents.
 The programs will be culturally appropriate and healthcare
workforce will largely constitute of individuals from the indigenous
community.
 The key highlights of the sessions will be healthy eating and diet
planning, prevention strategies and actions to maximise the
 The key objective would be to incorporate the whole community
in implementing changes in the eating habits, physical activities
and the lifestyle.
References
Black, N., Hughes, R., & Jones, A. M. (2018). The health care costs of
childhood obesity in Australia: An instrumental variables
approach. Economics & Human Biology, 31, 1-13.
Queensland Health. (2020). Tackling Childhood Overweight and
Obesity within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
People. Clinical Excellence Queensland | Queensland Health.
Retrieved 6 April 2020, from
https://clinicalexcellence.qld.gov.au/improvement-exchange/t
ackling-childhood-overweight-obesity-atsi
Sherriff, S. L., Baur, L., Lambert, M. G., Dickson, M., Eades, S. J., &
Muthayya, S. (2019). Aboriginal childhood overweight and
obesity: the need for Aboriginal designed and led
initiatives. Public Health Research & Practice, 29(4).