Blog Writing: Australian Obesity, Health Campaigns, and Policies

This blog post delves into the growing issue of obesity in Australia, examining various contributing factors and potential solutions from a public health perspective. It highlights the inequity in low socioeconomic status (SES) areas, where obesity rates are higher due to limited access to resources and education. The post also analyzes the role of eating trends, such as high fast-food consumption and excessive sugar intake, in exacerbating the problem. It explores the impact of public health campaigns, including unintended consequences like fat shaming, and evaluates the effectiveness of policies such as sugar taxes and regulations on unhealthy food advertising. The author argues for a proactive approach to address obesity, emphasizing the need for both government initiatives and individual responsibility, while also acknowledging the psychological impact of fat shaming and recommending seeking support when needed. The blog references studies and reports to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and potential strategies for tackling the obesity crisis in Australia.

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Overweight and obesity is a growing issue not only in Australia, but also all around the
world. As per study, it has been found that two- thirds of people of West Australia are obese
or overweight. Further research showed that it is due to the fact that due to low inequity in the
SES areas, obesity is higher in that region. There is a definite connection between rates of
obesity and the socioeconomic factors of the area. Moreover, the eating trends and habits also
contribute to the high rates of this disease prevailing in the country. As per studies conducted
in 2011-2012, it has been found that Australians on an average consume 14 teaspoons of
sugar each day, that is twice the normal intake of sugar as mentioned by WHO (Warbrick,
Came & Dickson, 2019).
Australia has involved in some programs that spread awareness about the disease like
the Heart Foundation Act which launches campaign that aims to educate the residents about
the risks associated with being overweight and obesity. This campaign visually highlighted
the kind of damage that fat can impose on a hums being’s internal organs. There is an
unintended side effect of this health issue which is ‘fat shaming’; it involves harassing and
criticizing the overweight people through conversation, discourse or through cyberbullying,
to the extent that they feel ashamed of themselves. This issue, in turn, leads to a lot of
psychological illness as well. The most immediate affect is seen as body dissatisfaction, and
it is noticed in both males and females; yet the number of females who are affected are more
than the males.
As a means to reduce the disease, Australian government is imposing and creating
policies that would help the people to avoid from being overweight or obesity.
Implementation of sugar tax, is one of such policies that working as a combat the rising
numbers of diabetes, obesity and overweight (Allen & Allen, 2020). The commercial actors
have also started to reduce their sugar intake and this is helping the public to be inspired and
do so on their own. There is also the food advertising regulation that protects the children

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from unhealthy food advertising, yet this regulation needs to be more adequate since there are
rare success rate of this regulation in the country (Roberts et al., 2012).
Moreover, there are adequate policies required to limit the promotion of unhealthy
eating in low-income areas. Hence, the government has to notice about the distribution of the
fast food convenience stores and outlets in these areas to control the issue (Hilmers, Hilmers
& Dave, 2012). Yet it must also be mentioned that the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ is something that
would not be won with only the effort of the government or other health campaigns. I believe,
that one has to be proactive oneself, to win this battle and most importantly, let not fat
shaming affect them too much. I believe, that people can take fat shaming as a motivating
factor to improve their health status, but I know it is a difficult task. Hence, I would
recommend to seek help when fat shaming or criticism is imposing way more negative
impact on the body and mind.

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References:
Allen, W. M., & Allen, K. J. (2020). Should Australia tax sugar‐sweetened
beverages?. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 56(1), 8-15.
Hilmers, A., Hilmers, D. C., & Dave, J. (2012). Neighborhood disparities in access to healthy
foods and their effects on environmental justice. American journal of public
health, 102(9), 1644-1654.
Roberts, M., Pettigrew, S., Chapman, K., Miller, C., & Quester, P. (2012). Compliance with
children’s television food advertising regulations in Australia. BMC Public
Health, 12(1), 846.
Warbrick, I., Came, H., & Dickson, A. (2019). The shame of fat shaming in public health:
moving past racism to embrace indigenous solutions. Public Health, 176, 128-132.