Reason for Choosing Policy
Discuss about the Policy Analysis: The National Preventative Health Strategy – The Roadmap for Action 30 June 2009 (Obesity Prevention).
The significance of Obesity in Australia
The recent decades have seen a rise in the cases of obesity in Australia. This has been observed across all age groups but more so among adults in the population. Obesity in the population is linked to not only other related chronic diseases, but also adds up to the economic burden of meeting hospital bills. In the year 1995, statistics on Australians aged above 18 years indicated that 64.9 per cent males and 49.4 per cent females were classified as obese and/or overweight (Harris, Fetherston, & Calder, 2017). Recently in-between 2014 and 2015, these proportions rose to 70.8 per cent males and 56.3 per cent females. Comparatively, the adult obesity rate of Australia is approximated to the 5th highest among the countries forming up the OECD countries (OECD, 2017). Between the years 2014 and 2015, about 27.2 per cent of the Australian children population within the age of 5 to 17 years were rated as being either obese or overweight. Among them, 7.4 per cent were classified as living with obesity. If there are no interventions today, more Australians will be overweight or obese in the future (Martin, 2018). The National Preventative Health Taskforce estimated that if there are no interventions, about 6 million of the Australian population will be overweight or obese in the year 2020. By 2025, 73 per cent of Australians will be overweight or obese (Gray & Holman, 2009). In this regard, a third of children and three quarters of the country’s population will be overweight or obese. This will present with 2 years fall in life expectancy of Australian children once they attain 20 years of age. Overweight and obesity related type 2 diabetes will hike from the current $1.3 to an approximated $8.0 billion by the year 2032 (Harris et al., 2017). It is thus clear that obesity is a very significant issue that needs to be addressed through water-tight policies to prevent the potential effect of related lifestyle diseases and reduce healthcare costs. This study thus presents the reason for choosing this policy on obesity for review, the identified problem, the critical discussion evidence/analysis of the policy, the identified decision parameters, and a conclusion.
Reason for Choosing Policy
The choice to analyse the National Preventative Health Strategy–The Roadmap particularly on obesity prevention is because of the danger caused by obesity on the Australian population today and in the near future. From the above statistics, it is clear that obesity will bring about more costs on healthcare for Australians, will predispose the population to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and will end up reducing the life expectancy of the young generation by 2 years if not prevented today (Harris et al., 2017). This policy needs to be analysed in order to track the effects of its implementation as adopted by the Australian federal government since 2009, on obesity cases.
The Identified Problem
This chapter focuses on highlighting the strategies towards reversing the increasing trend of obesity among Australians. It also aims at managing and preventing obesity while targeting the prevention of related adverse effects such as type 2 diabetes and higher costs of medication for the population (Obesity Policy Coalition (2018). In regard to these targets, the policy put it upon Australian health authorities and the government to increase the number of Australian adults and children that have healthy body weight by 3 per cent in the following 10 years. The authorities also were to increase the number of Australians that meet the national healthy eating and/or physical activity guidelines by 15 per cent within the following six years (Martin, 2018). Further, the strategy directed the health authorities and the Australian government to ensure; that a start to life for children is healthy, and that promotion of parenting and supportive communities in a positive way is paramount.
The chapter as a policy on obesity has action areas that are structured towards halting and/or reversing the increasing trend in overweight and obesity cases in Australia by the year 2020. First, it recommends the need for health authorities to institute community-based environmental changes that can boost physical activity levels in the populace and thus reduce cases of a sedentary lifestyle. The second action area was that authorities needed to drive change in the food supply in order to ensure that healthier food options are sold to the citizens. Thirdly, the policy recommends as the need to reduce cases of exposing children and even adults marketing messages of products which encourage consumption of energy-dense but nutrient-poor foods including beverages (Sacks, Martin, & Veerman, 2016). The policy also calls upon health authorities and the Australian government(s) to address maternal and/or child health care also as to enhance a healthy early life.
The piece of legislation also calls upon the authorities to support communities that have low-income earning population, so as to improve their physical activity levels and boost healthy eating. In regard to the indigenous population, the policy recommends a need to reduce the prevalence of obesity and its burden among the Indigenous Australians. Further, the policy as structured by The National Preventative Health Taskforce, recommended a need to build an evidence base, and carry out a monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the mentioned actions.
The Identified Problem
After the release and adoption by the “Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020 – National Preventative Health Taskforce Strategy –The Roadmap for Action (the Roadmap)” by the National Preventative Health Taskforce it was clear that Australia had finally found strategy that could reverse the high cases of chronic diseases caused by alcoholism, obesity, and tobacco. The hopes of the advocacy groups that promoted campaigns against obesity were even lifted higher by the Australian government’s 2010 positive response committing to support the report’s implementation. Even so, there are factors that have hindered the implementation of this policy.
Identified Objectives
In line with Althaus, Bridgman & Davis (2013) the main and first factor that has limited the implementation of the policy is the lack of political goodwill to support the program, especially on obesity prevention. It is most more than 8 years since the strategy was passed by the Taskforce and ratified by the Australian government. Even so, the general progress is quite disappointing as the government has not put preventative health among its high priorities. The government, in fact, supported the Australian National Preventative Health Agency (ANPHA) abolishment in the year 2014 when actually the institution had been set up early in 2011 to direct and spearhead Australia’s preventative health initiatives as well as research (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). This political move of course worked against the recommended strategies as there was a reduced jurisdiction that could oversee a full implementation of the policy. Considering that ANPHA was expected to be contributing to research on obesity in Australia apart from carrying out preventative initiatives, its abolition also brought to a halt any efforts on obesity research. Any crucial statistics that would inform the government on decision-making regarding obesity, alcohol, and smoking including their influence on lifestyle, can no longer be provided by a centralized body as ANPHA was doing (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). This puts the population at risk of obesity, smoking, and alcoholism as data on these factors becomes limited.
Another factor that has hampered this policy on obesity prevention is insufficient funds. According to Althaus et al (2013), it is important to analyse from the economics point of view. In this regard, the “The Road Map” as the policy on obesity, alcohol, and smoking faces an economic problem. Among the main source of funding was the Commonwealth fund that is usually given to states to provide Australians in their regions with programs on healthy lifestyles within the National Preventative Health Agreement. This fund was also stopped. This means that the fight against obesity in Australia is being underfunded and thus the strategies set out in the National Preventative Health Strategy (2009) are not being fully implemented. Lack of funding for any policy means that its implementation is not guaranteed and neither is its monitoring and evaluation plans likely to occur. A lack of sustained funding for the policy hampers its implementation across Australia. Only some states take up a section of the strategies while others under-fund or ignore a large section of its stipulations.
In terms of social factors, children in Australia, as well as adults, are treated to marketing and advertising platforms that promote the use of high-energy products. Junk foods are thus being preferred as fast foods, a trend that has been common amongst the majority of Australians both in urbanized areas and in the local communities (Sacks et al., 2016). The abolition of ANPHA also contributed to this problem. There is no institution that can now set targets for the Australian population dietary intake as well as reduction of key food nutrients in major categories of food. The organization as set up had a direct influence on the information displayed as marketing messages to the population (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). It would recommend governmental limiting of such information but considering its abolishment, children and adult Australians are enticed to junk foods with high fat content, which contribute to overweight and obesity.
Identified Objectives
Considering the alarming rise of overweight and obese cases in Australia combined with the economic, political and social problems outlined above, it is clear that there is need for a serious operational intervention that will revive the implementation of the strategies of the National Preventative Health Taskforce. If there are no interventions today, more Australians will be overweight or obese in the future. It is important to note that if there are no interventions, about 6 million of the Australian population will be overweight or obese in the year 2020 (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). This will present with 2 years fall in life expectancy of Australian children once they attain 20 years of age. Overweight and obesity related type 2 diabetes will hike from the current $1.3 to an approximated $8.0 billion by the year 2032 (Harris et al., 2017). There is thus need for an urgent range of comprehensive of interventions that will bring about behaviour change among Australians towards healthy nutrition, improve lifestyles, and minimize the current chronic disease burden in the country.
As for the first objective, there is a need for Australia to adopt a whole-of-government strategy aimed at preventing obesity as is also recommended in Holman & Smith (2008). This is in line with the Obesity Policy Coalition which indicates the importance of ameliorating obesity among Australians. Secondly, there is need to reduce exposing children to marketing messages targeted at increasing the sale of unhealthy food in the media. This is in line with the Global Obesity Centre at Australia’s Deakin University. The third goal should be to improve Australia’s Health Star Rating System which will have all labels on foods sold indicating the health levels of packaged foods (Sacks et al., 2016). This will inform health choices.
The fourth objective should include a sustainable funding of mass media campaigns so as to boost adoption of healthy foods and prevent obesity (Obesity Australia, 2015). Another goal should focus on committing a funding that is sustainable towards facilitating continuous comprehensive nutrition survey every 5 to 10 years. This is in line with the WHO guidelines on obesity. Further, interventions should focus on the objective of reducing sugar-sweetened products in Australia as well as a reduction in calories in key food nutrients sold in the country.
One of the decision parameters includes resources. There is a need for resources including monetary funds and set-up institutions that can oversee the whole-of-government strategy on controlling the increasing trend of obesity and related chronic diseases in Australia (ABC News, 2017). Concerning timelines, there is a need for an immediate uptake of the above goals and objectives before 2020 as the projections indicate that a huge size of the population will be overweight and obese by 2020. Particularly, according to Harris et al (2017), 73% of the Australian population will be either obese or overweight by 2025 and this means that the above interventions including the recommendations of the National Preventative Health Taskforce, should be implemented.
As for priorities, mobilising of sustainable funding awareness campaigns against obesity, smoking and alcoholism should the first priority. Secondly, the Australian government should recommit itself to forming an institution as was ANPHA, to spearhead and oversee the implementation of the strategies given as objectives as well as those set out in the Roadmap (2009). Further priority can be given to a continuous and active monitoring and evaluation of new and already existing obesity prevention campaigns. All these can be backed up by research institutions such as the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) which is composed of the Cancer Council Victoria, the Global Obesity Centre, and the Diabetes Victoria, all of which are committed to research on an evidence-based policy that can address overweight and obesity.
Despite the fact that a national approach to preventing obesity in Australia has not been in place after the abolition of the ANPHA, there have been alternative policies that have helped in controlling obesity cases. States, as well as territories, have varied types of such policies on prevention of obesity and lifestyle diseases. Strong political leadership at state levels determine the level and extent of obesity prevention intervention policy being implemented. The NSW state government has been for instance, committed to reducing childhood obesity through active monitoring of overweight and obesity rates, boosting community education on a healthy lifestyle as well as initiating and funding the infamous healthy canteen strategy (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). The strategy ensures that residents have healthy foods as options in groceries and in the market. Another alternative policy includes The Australian Capital Territory’s Towards Zero Growth – Healthy Weight Action Plan 2013, which provides responsibilities, goals, and priorities that are all cross-sectoral, for improving health within the Australian Capital Territory. Thirdly, there are local governments which have continually risen to be health promotion and/or prevention policy key drivers. As an example, the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan comprise of planned actions that municipalities should utilize in reducing sugary drinks (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). As a result, Victorian municipalities have become leaders in the creation of healthy drinks environments through adopting mechanisms aimed at increasing access to water while reducing sugary food consumption such as drinks. This has been made possible through guidelines provided by the Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices (Obesity Policy Coalition, 2018). It is clear from these alternatives, however, that there is no specific comprehensive way that has been developed to nationally prevent obesity in Australia, as was ANPHA which was unfortunately abolished in 2014.
Lobby groups in Australia have carried out policy advocacy on obesity and lifestyle diseases and agitated for the implementation of the strategies set out in the roadmap drawn by the National Preventative Health Taskforce. These include mainly, the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) which is composed of the Cancer Council Victoria, the Global Obesity Centre, and the Diabetes Victoria organisation.
Conclusion
In conclusion Chapter 2 of the 2009 report by the National Preventative Health Taskforce entitled “Obesity in Australia: A Need For Urgent Action” is a crucial policy whose stipulations would have seen reversed numbers in Australians in terms of being overweight and obese. The chapter recommended a need for among others; for health authorities to institute community-based environmental changes that can boost physical activity levels in the populace and thus reduce cases of sedentary lifestyle; authorities to drive change in food supply in order to ensure that healthier food options are sold to the citizens; reduce cases of exposing children and even adults to marketing messages of products which encourage consumption of energy-dense but nutrient-poor foods including beverages; authorities and the Australian government(s) to address maternal and/or child health care also as to enhance a healthy early life; the authorities to support communities that have low-income earning population, so as to improve their physical activity levels and boost healthy eating; reduce the prevalence of obesity and its burden among the Indigenous Australians; and a need to build an evidence base, and carry out an effective monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the mentioned actions. From the discussion, however, there are economic, social and political factors that hindered the implementation of this policy. The factors included lack of funding, the abolishment of ANPHA in 2014, and the continued widespread unregulated exposure of Australians to advertisements of unhealthy food products, as economic, political and social respectively. Obesity is not only a health threat in Australia but also in the UK, where healthcare plans are however in place to counter any rise of the condition going forward. Obesity is likely to reduce the life expectancy of Australian children by 2 years when they reach 20 years old. It also predisposes them to early childhood diabetes. As for women, obesity breeds gestational diabetes, cases of still births, macrosoma among newborns, and dystocia among the newborns (Gray & Holman, 2009). As for the males, obesity predisposes them to insulin resistance and they end up developing diabetes. Other lifestyle conditions related to this particular problem include hypertension. Obesity and its related health condition increase the cost of healthcare for all the Australians (World Health Organisation (2010). It is thus important that the Australian government and the state governments put in place national measures that will see a committed society on preventing obesity, alcoholism, and smoking.
One recommendation for change is that there is a need for the Australian government to reinstitute a new organization that will see a countrywide or national campaign against obesity. The Australian government needs to understand the important position that ANPHA had and thus re-introduce a similar body that will oversee the implementation of the strategies suggested by the National Preventative Health Taskforce in 2009. The functioning of this organization will be easy because it has the strategies already set out by the Taskforce. Leaving the state and territorial governments to fight their own wars on obesity is the government’s undoing. Obesity will bring about the increase in the number of chronic diseases amongst Australians and more so, its young population. It is thus important that the political affiliation in the country and the country’s leadership reconsiders their stand on preventative health. They should create the “overseer institution” and fund it so as to see success in the fight against obesity. The government can also in this particular view, mobilize funds from organizations such as the Commonwealth to once again boost the fight against obesity.
References
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