Chapter 7 Concluding remarks
7.1
There is no doubt that obesity presents a serious challenge to the
health of Australians. In the course of this inquiry, the Committee has examined
the future implications that obesity presents for Australia and the
contribution that governments, industry, communities and individuals can all
make to reverse the currently too high levels of overweight and obesity in this
country. This report follows the story of the Committee’s inquiry.
7.2
Obesity has grabbed the public’s attention throughout 2008 and 2009. The
almost daily references to obesity in the television and print media have
raised awareness of the attendant issues. Many of the reports have presented a doom
and gloom view. The Committee would like its report to show that there are
grounds for optimism. There is an impetus within Australia to respond to
obesity. There is energy and support within the community for action now.
7.3
The Committee looks forward to the release of the National Preventative
Health Taskforce’s (the Taskforce) National Preventative Health Strategy in
late June 2009. The Committee believes that while the two processes, that of
this inquiry and the Taskforce, may on the surface appear similar, there are in
fact some differences. The Committee has had an opportunity to focus on
personal stories as it visited communities and met individuals, while the
Taskforce has had the expertise to draw on the technical and scientific aspects
of preventative health practice in order to develop a comprehensive national
prevention framework. The Committee hopes that our report will complement the
Taskforce’s evidence-based strategy by telling the human stories as seen
through the eyes of individuals, families, health workers, the private sector,
governments and communities all around Australia.
7.4
An over-arching theme of this report is the need for national
leadership, with the Federal Government driving and/or supporting changes, to
address obesity across the spectrum of Australian society. Such leadership is
required in order to develop a whole-of-society response to obesity, engaging
with industry, non-government organisations, communities and different levels
and portfolios of government. Government has the opportunity at this time to
‘set the scene’ and create the conditions for a comprehensive response to
obesity within Australian society. In this respect, the Committee sees the
value of the Taskforce’s recommendation to establish a new stand-alone national
agency for promoting health and preventing illness.
7.5
One of the major issues that has confronted the Committee throughout the
inquiry, which is discussed in detail in Chapter 2, is the lack of up–to-date
data about the rate of obesity, the nutritional intake of Australians and the
level of physical activity within the community. This inadequate data makes it
difficult to accurately determine the cost of obesity and the future
implications for and costs to the health system. The Committee urges the Federal
Government to undertake detailed economic modelling of the projected costs of
obesity and interventions, similar to those proposed in the 2008 Foresight
Report on obesity prevention and management in the United Kingdom. The
Committee strongly supports plans to remedy the existing data gaps through an
adults nutrition and physical activity survey, and the proposed biomedical
health risks survey, and wants to see these initiatives not simply considered
‘one-offs’ but updated regularly and sustained over the long-term.
7.6
The role of governments at all levels in addressing obesity is
central. Broadly, governments need to consider modifying urban planning
requirements, using regulation and legislation as tools to drive changes to the
food supply and improving the management and treatment of overweight and
obesity in the health system. Obesity has been compared to climate change
insofar as it is a major modern phenomenon which requires a multiplicity of
responses from government. In this respect the Committee notes the United
Kingdom’s report, Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st
Century (2008). The report can provide a useful conceptual and practical guide
to nations like Australia for developing more integrated policies that deal
with the long-term trends in food production, consumption, safety and nutrition
impact on the health of citizens. The Committee hopes that the current global
financial crisis does not distract the government from giving the issues of overweight
and obesity, and preventative health the attention that they deserve.
7.7
There is no doubt that the private sector has made some positive steps
to contribute to reducing the growing rates of obesity in Australia. Industry
must be part of the solution to obesity in Australia, which is why the
Committee has recommended that the Federal Government adopt an approach similar
to that of the United Kingdom whose Healthy Food Code of Good Practice challenges
all sectors of the food industry to promote healthy eating. The Committee
believes that the Federal Government and industry need to work together more
collaboratively on these issues.
7.8
Individuals need to take responsibility for their own weight but the
Committee notes that there are factors that impact on the ability of people to
control their weight. These include biological factors, the obesogenic environment,
psychological factors, lack of knowledge and/or education and socioeconomic
factors. The Committee considers these issues to be a whole-of-society responsibility
with redress falling to governments, communities, industry and individuals.
7.9
One of the most rewarding discoveries for Committee members as they
travelled across Australia for public hearings and inspections has been to see
first-hand the role that communities can and are currently playing in
addressing the levels of obesity in Australia. Throughout the inquiry, the
Committee has been impressed with the breadth and depth of activities that are
having demonstrated success within communities.
7.10
While the community programs and partnerships the Committee witnessed
throughout the inquiry are not the total solution to obesity in Australia, they
make a positive contribution. Key to the successful programs is a sense of
community ownership, involvement and connection, which the Committee believes
will be integral to underscoring the Federal Government’s strategy and
government programs. The Committee has been impressed by the degree of community
engagement it has seen in programs like the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Program, the Colac intervention and the Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using
Parent Support (HIKCUPS) project, to name but a few. The Committee has enjoyed learning
more about the different contributions that the various projects, programs and
partnerships have made, and their often unforseen flow-on benefits for healthier
communities.
7.11
The Committee hopes that this report will move the debate surrounding
obesity forward. While the Committee is of the view that the high levels of
overweight and obesity are of very serious cause for concern and possibly even
underestimated at the current time, there has been significant evidence that
across Australia positive steps are being undertaken by governments,
communities, individuals and industry.
7.12
There are many individuals who are working tirelessly in Australia to
control their weight or help others to adopt healthier lifestyles. The
Committee thanks the many doctors, specialists and allied health and community
workers who took the time to attend public hearings and share their knowledge.
These are the unsung heroes of the Australian health system and the battle
against overweight and obesity. The Committee is confident that the work it has
witnessed, ranging from community programs to medical treatments, will serve to
reinforce the strategy that is currently being devised by the Taskforce. The Committee
appreciates the Taskforce’s input into the inquiry and the opportunity to have
discussions about policy options with the Taskforce Chair, members, and secretariat
staff alike.
7.13
Evidence presented to the Committee highlights the fact that obesity is
a real and pressing problem in need of a comprehensive and multifaceted solution.
The Committee is confident that the public support for action which it has
witnessed throughout the inquiry will contribute to the success of the
Taskforce’s strategy, and thinks that the public momentum for change should be
captured and built upon. This drive has left the Committee feeling optimistic,
rather than pessimistic, that the concerted effort of all sectors of Australian
society can bring the public health issues of obesity under control and reduce
the burden to Australian society and the economy.
Steve
Georganas MP
Chair
May
2009