Obesity is a serious challenge Australia has recently faced in the field of health care. Today, this country shows one of the highest overweight rates around the world. The Australian Preventative Health Taskforce has put this problem in the list of the major health challenges along with tobacco and alcohol addictions (National Preventative Health Taskforce, 2010).
The deplorable results of numerous research show that the problem’s solution requires the introduction of a wise health care policy and efficient preventative measures. Thus, it is important to understand the roots of the problem and its character in order to define a right improvement strategy.
Statistics shows that Australia takes a leading place among developed nations in obesity. According to the official data, the overweight problem is present in 60% of adults and 25% of children. Researchers point out that an average Australian has become about seven kilograms heavier in the past twenty years. The figures are even worse for Aboriginal people and the inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands (National Preventative Health Taskforce, 2010).
The number of obesity cases is rapidly increasing that causes a great concern on the part of the government. According to The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle annual study, the National Health Care System received 2 billion dollars in the framework of the overweight and obesity prevention program in 2008. The indirect expenses, however, are considerably larger.
The study claims that the total cost of the problem’s solution in the same year comprised a sum of 8.3 billion dollars (Colagiuri et al. 2010). It is presumed that there will be about 6.9 million people suffering from obesity in Australia by 2025 (National Preventative Health Taskforce, 2010).
This perspective seems to be twice alarming taking into account the fact that obesity is a potential cause of other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, the government’s primary concern is to work out a definite plan aimed at the situation’s improvement. The strategy is to include not only the methods proper for the problem’s solution but also the efficient preventative measures.
The Australian Preventative Health Taskforce has announced a series of statistical facts. First of all, the obesity progression is evident – the number of overweight people becomes a couple of millions larger every two-five years. Secondly, a weight increase is prevalently present in young women: 21.8% of the relevant cases contrary to 19.1% of the same problems in men.
Moreover, it has been discovered that 7.5% of all the diseases in 2003 were the immediate consequences of the overweight issue. The major part of this percentage is represented by cardiovascular disorders and diabetes. It is also stated that disadvantaged social groups are more amenable to the obesity problem.
The Taskforce’s study claims that the progression’s figures are practically similar for adults and elderly people; thus, the obesity rate in grown-ups reaches 6.1% (National Preventative Health Taskforce, 2010). One should point out that the situation is additionally complicated by the fact that current generations are likely to pass the problem to their children.
In order to find an efficient solution to the obesity problem, one is to perform a careful analysis of the issue’s roots. It is commonly known that a healthy diet and physical activity are the key factors determining a person’s weight. Hence, none of the suggested health care programs can be useful unless people realize the necessity of improving their current healthy environment.
One of the major problems is that the importance of healthy eating is frequently underestimated. Whereas people are perfectly conscious of the harmful effects of smoking and drinking, the consequences of an inappropriate diet normally remain undervalued.
A research conducted by several Australian institutions in 2005 showed that although first-grade children can identify healthy products and their beneficial qualities, they tend to experience difficulties in defining the wrong food. The researchers found out that a mass advertising on the TV and the Internet has a significant influence on children’s perception of the healthy eating concept.
It has also been discovered, that although parents are roughly well-informed about the diet issue, they express the necessity for the assistance in their children’s persuasion. In other words, a large number of parents understand the principals of healthy eating but they fail to find an approach to encourage the children to give up the bad habits (Hesketh et al. 2005).
One should point out that while the weight of an adult depends on his lifestyle, the weight of a child is significantly conditional on the parents’ behavior. Hence, it has been found out that the children of part-working mothers are less likely to suffer from obesity. It is explained by the fact that the former have more time to spend with their little ones; thus, distracting the children from sedentary activities (Brown et al. 2010).
However, excessive parental care in the questions of diet seems to be as harmful as a complete lack of control. A recent Australian research has proved that balanced food practices show more efficiency with children as they do not imply any moral pressure and consequently create a healthy psychological environment (Champion, Giles & Moore 2010).
Another root of overweight problems is insufficient physical activity. Numerous research state that people that prefer walking to using the public transport are less subject to obesity than those that go to work by bus or metro.
A thorough consideration of the research’s results has helped the Australian government to work out a health care strategy aimed at minimizing the risks of obesity. One of the central areas of focus is the encouragement of the society’s demand for good food and healthy lifestyle. A particular emphasis is also put on children’s protection from the marketing influence in the field of a diet.
Thus, schools and other social institutions are supposed to integrate a healthy culture into their environment through special programs and practices. The government is ready to contribute to the development of the general healthy culture among both adults and children with the help of the introduction of extra educational sources.
It is also targeted to reduce the gap for the disadvantaged groups by providing them with additional facilities and services. The authorities are aware of the importance of tracking the progress; therefore, the relevant monitoring procedures are also included in the strategy (National Preventative Health Taskforce, 2010).
The problems of overweight and obesity are relatively new to the experience of the mankind. The increasing number of obesity cases in Australia signifies the existence of essential drawbacks in the current health care program. It is crucial that the government performs a profound analysis of the collected data and bases its policy both on the statistics and the practical insights.
It is evident today that the problem’s solution requires active participation on the part of the public, as healthy perspectives cannot be forced from the top-down. Thus, an efficient preventative policy is only possible on condition that there is a close cooperation of the Australian society and the health care services.
Reference List
Brown, J, Broom, DH, Nicholson, JM & Bittman, M 2010, ‘Do Working Mothers Raise Couch Potato Kids? Maternal Employment and Children’s Lifestyle Behaviours and Weight in Early Childhood’, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 70, no.11, pp. 1816-1824.
Champion, S, Giles, LC & Moore, V 2010, ‘Parenting beliefs and practices contributing to overweight and obesity in children’, Australasian Epidemiologist, vol. 17, no.1, pp. 21-25.
Colagiuri, S, Lee, C, Colagiuri, R, Magliano, D, Shaw, JE, Zimmet, PZ & Caterson, ID 2010, ‘The cost of overweight and obesity in Australia’, Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 192, no.5, pp. 260-264.
Hesketh, K, Waters, E, Green, J, Salmon, L & Williams, J 2005, ‘Healthy Eating, Activity and Obesity Prevention: a Qualitative Study of Parent and Child Perceptions in Australia’, Health Promotion International, vol. 20, no.1, pp. 19-26.
National Preventative Health Taskforce 2010, Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020, Commonwealth of Australia, Sydney.