Comprehensive sector-wide strategies to prevent and control obesity: what are the potential health and broader societal benefits? A case study from Australia

James Kite; Debra Hector; Alexis St George; Zeljko Pedisic; Philayrath Phongsavan; Adrian Bauman; Jo Mitchell; Bill Bellew

doi:10.1071/phrp2541545

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Comprehensive sector-wide strategies to prevent and control obesity: what are the potential health and broader societal benefits? A case study from Australia

James Kite ^A , Debra Hector ^A , Alexis St George ^A , Zeljko Pedisic ^A ^B ^C , Philayrath Phongsavan ^A , Adrian Bauman ^A , Jo Mitchell and Bill Bellew ^A ^D ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Public Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^B Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Croatia.

^C Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

^D NSW Ministry of Health, Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: william.bellew@sydney.edu.au

Public Health Research and Practice 25, e2541545 https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp2541545

Published: 30 September 2015

2015 © Kite et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, which allows others to redistribute, adapt and share this work non-commercially provided they attribute the work and any adapted version of it is distributed under the same Creative Commons licence terms.

Abstract

Aim:Several countries have recently established multistakeholder strategies to prevent or control overweight and obesity; however, studies have not yet been done on their effectiveness and likely impact. This study’s objectives were to (i) explore sector-wide benefits and impacts likely to accrue from implementing an obesity prevention strategy in the Australian state of New South Wales; (ii) discuss the wider implications of the findings for research and practice; and (iii) strengthen the case for sustained implementation of a comprehensive, intersectoral approach. Method: A case study approach, including evidence reviews and illustrative epidemiological models, was used to show potential benefits from meeting selected targets and objectives specified in the strategy. Results: For adults, improved health outcomes potentially include reductions in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, various cancers, osteoarthritis, infant mortality and healthcare costs. Potential benefits beyond the health sector involve disability payments, absenteeism, worker productivity, workplace injuries and insurance claims. For children and adolescents, improved health outcomes potentially include metabolic risk factors, dental health, prehypertension/hypertension, cardiovascular disease risk factors, depression, rates of mortality in hospitalised children, bullying and otitis media. Conclusion: Sector-wide health, social and economic benefits from successful implementation of multisector obesity prevention strategies are likely to be substantial if specified targets are achieved. Epidemiological modelling described in this paper for selected examples provides illustrative rather than comprehensive evidence for potential benefits. Process evaluation of the extent of implementation of these multisectoral strategies, together with the accumulated data on intervention effectiveness, will determine their potential population health benefit. Quantifying the health and social benefits that are likely to accrue if comprehensive sector-wide obesity prevention and control strategies are established can strengthen advocacy for their sustained implementation.