Obesity prevention policy

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The conditions we live in have an immense impact on our behaviours that support health. Adults and children have the right to live, learn, recreate, and work in environments and settings that support us to eat well and be physically active.

Cancer Council WA works to inform community discussion and stakeholder support for policies that create these supportive environments. This work is generously funded by Healthway and is undertaken in partnership with the Telethon Kids Institute.

Stay up to date

To stay up to date on our work, subscribe to our Obesity Policy Review newsletter by emailing ObesityPolicy@cancerwa.asn.au and read back issues. You can also follow us on Twitter at ObesityPolicyWA.

Key Campaigns

Now is the time to protect children from junk food advertising.

Cancer Council WA in partnership with the Telethon Kids Institute and other leading WA health and medical agencies call for the immediate removal of junk food advertising from WA Government property.

Let’s get Junk food out of cricket

Cancer Council WA continues to raise awareness of the inappropriate relationship between sport and junk food advertising.

Reports

Joint Statement on Protecting Children from Unhealthy Food and Drink Advertising on State-owned Assets: A united call to action by Western Australian leading health and medical agencies for the immediate removal of junk food advertising from WA Government property.
Policy Brief : Prohibiting unhealthy food and drinks advertising on state-owned assets: A summary of research results commissioned by Cancer Council WA on the extent and harm of outdoor junk food advertising in Perth, and describes the regulatory approaches which are open to the WA Government to address unhealthy food marketing on their property.
Food Advertising on School Buses: Commissioned research by the Western Australian Cancer Prevention and Research Centre (WACPRU) to understand the amount of unhealthy food advertising displayed at Perth train station and on buses stopping at a sample of Perth high schools on the first day of school for 2020.
Junk-food filled neighbourhoods – Building a local evidence base for change: Commissioned research by the Telethon Kids Institute to investigate outdoor food marketing around Perth schools and current density of fast-food outlets in Perth. It builds the evidence for regulatory interventions required for outdoor advertising and planning reform to control fast food outlet development.
Junk food in sport: it’s just not cricket. A report on how much KFC branding children are exposed to as part of the Cricket Australia KFC Big Bash League and what does the Western Australian community think about junk food sponsorship in sport, results of a Cancer Council WA survey.
Unhealthy Promotion in Elite Sport: When Burgers Aren’t Better: A report showing that every fourth Instagram post by elite WA sporting teams promotes unhealthy behaviours.
Policy Brief: Reform of Western Australia’s planning legislative framework in order to promote specific public health objectives: Cancer Council WA has been working with researchers and partners to build the case to convince decision makers to implement a crucial public health recommendation, to amend the planning law to include health as a consideration in planning decisions. Cancer Council WA, together with the UWA Law School prepared this Policy Brief for decision makers in order to highlight why this is needed and met with the Minister for Planning’s office to present the brief.
Critique of WA Planning Law and how community health is protected?: Cancer Council WA commissioned the UWA Law School to examine State Planning Law for opportunities to utilise and amend regulations to ensure health concerns are incorporated into planning decisions.
Regulatory and law options to advance obesity prevention policy: A report prepared by UWA law school with Cancer Council WA a member of the advisory board, funded by Healthway.

Published Articles

Trapp G, Hooper H, Billingham W et al. Would you like fries with that? Investigating fast-food outlet availability near schools in Perth, Western Australia. Health Promo J Austral 2022, 1-6

Trapp G, Hooper P, Thornton L et al. Does fast-food outlet density differ by area-level disadvantage in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia? Health Promot J Austral 2022, 1-4

Trapp G, Hooper P, Thornton LE, et al. Exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising during the school commute in Australia. J Epidemiol Community Health 2021; 0:1–4. doi:10.1136/jech-2021-217032

Trapp G, Hooper P, Thornton LE et al. Children’s exposure to outdoor advertising near primary and secondary schools in Australia. Health Promot J Austral 2021;00:1-7. doi:10.1002/hpja.532

Chung A, Zorbas C, Riesenberg D et al, Policies to restrict unhealthy food and beverage advertising in outdoor spaces and on publicly owned assets: A scoping review of the literature. World Obesity 2021; e13386 doi.org/10.1111/obr.13386

Trapp G, Hooper P, Thornton L et al. Association between food-outlet availability near secondary schools and junk-food purchasing among Australian adolescents. Nutrition 2021, 91-92

Submissions

Western Australian Inquiry into the most effective ways to address food insecurity for children and young people affected by poverty – Cancer Council WA Submission.
Review of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 Public Health and Consumer organisations call for food regulatory reform to put the health of Australian and New Zealanders first
Review of Food Act 2008 (WA)
Draft National Obesity Prevention Policy
Local development plan Parkland Heights Baldivis objection to two drive-through fast-food outlets with a residential estate.

Articles

Perth Football Club seeks to appoint a Hungry Jacks Engagement Officer to promote the junk food brand in schools. A Croakey article describes how the junk food industry uses sporting endorsements to work around weak regulations and target school students.
Buckethead given the OK to advertise KFC to children at Big Bash Cricket games. Cancer Council WA reflect on the disappointing outcome from an Ad Standard complaint in a blog published on Parents’ Voice.
An epidemic of junk food marketing: A Croakey article examining the junk food and quick service industry capitalisation on COVID-19 during lockdowns.

Media Releases

5 August 2021 WA health experts say junk food and sugary drink sponsorships have no place in sport.
11 June 2021 Cancer Council WA welcomes State Government funding: Continuing our work in partnership with the Telethon Kids Institute on our policy related research into healthy eating and the impact of junk food advertising.
8 July 2020 Cancer Council WA partners with Telethon Kids Institute: Cancer Council WA has partnered with Telethon Kids Institute to receive funding from Healthway to deliver a Rapid Obesity Policy Translation Project.

Obesity Policy Review newsletter

The Obesity Policy Review is a monthly newsletter that aims to update the community on the latest obesity policy news, research and advocacy being undertaken.