Oral Presentation ANZOS-Breakthrough Discoveries Joint Annual Scientific Meeting 2018

What does Obesity Prevention look like in a Local Government Setting? Connecting LiveLighter® with Public Health in Practice (#107)

Maria Szybiak 1 2 , Victoria Jansen 1 2 , Jenny Atkins 1 , Deb Langridge 1 2 , Steve Pratt 1
  1. Cancer Council Western Australia, Subiaco, WA, Australia
  2. Heart Foundation WA, Subiaco, WA, Australia

Introduction

Almost two-in-three West Australian adults and one-in-five West Australian children are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for 22 diseases including cardiovascular conditions, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Significant work has been done developing policies and programs for obesity prevention and control at the State and Local Government level, including the Public Health Act 2016, and the First Interim State Public Health Plan (PHP) for Western Australia.

There is increasing evidence that mass-media led public education campaigns can substantially enhance the impact and effectiveness of public health and health promotion interventions at the local level through strategic and meaningful engagement with local governments.  We only have to look at campaigns used in tobacco control, to show long term, well-funded and comprehensive campaigns are necessary to achieve behaviour change.

Methodology

In 2012, Heart Foundation WA in partnership with Cancer Council WA launched LiveLighter® to address overweight and obesity in West Australian adults, with a focus on behaviours and environments associated with healthy diet and physical activity.

There are 139 local governments in WA - this paper will share the ‘how to’ of LiveLighter® and highlight ways in which Local Governments can utilise the campaign, its resources, and learnings to impact and contribute to the positive health and wellbeing of their local government communities.

Findings

The tactics used by LiveLighter® to engage local governments has resulted in:

  • increased awareness of LiveLighter® messages regarding nutrition and physical activity;
  • contribution to the development of local government policy papers such as public health plans; and
  • the formation of inter-agency alliances to combat obesity in WA.

Conclusion

As part of a sustainable and comprehensive approach to tackle significant public health issues, there is a role for mass-media led public education campaigns in local government settings, in partnership with local governments.