House of Representatives Committees

| House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing

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Weighing it up: Obesity in Australia

1 June 2009

View the report as a single document - (PDF 9303KB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:


Preliminary Pages	(PDF 132KB)
Foreword Membership of the Committee Committee Secretariat Terms of reference List of abbreviations List of recommendations

Chapter 1 Introduction	(PDF 1092KB)
‘The big picture’ Additional prevalence data What is overweight and obesity? Subject of increased attention and reason for inquiry Carving out a niche for the Committee Parameters of the report The inquiry process Structure of the report

Chapter 2 Future implications for Australia	(PDF 665KB)
Costs of obesity Individual costs Social costs Future implications Cost of co-morbidities Hospital costs Monitoring interventions International perspective The United Kingdom Committee comment

Chapter 3 What more can governments do?	(PDF 1873KB)
National leadership Whole-of-society response National guidelines Prevention Social marketing and education Active After-school Communities Health system Current reviews of the health system Bariatric surgery National bariatric register Changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule A role for GPs Training Treatment options Child and maternal health Regulation Taxation and subsidies Advertising Food labelling Reformulation Urban planning Community facilities and activities Research agenda Committee comment

Chapter 4 A role for industry	(PDF 664KB)
Work with industry More work to be done Food industry Affordability and availability of healthier foods Weight loss industry Urban planning industry Employers Industry leading improvements Food industry Weight loss industry Urban planning industry Employers that are raising the bar Insurance industry Committee comment

Chapter 5 Individuals	(PDF 1164KB)
Individual responsibility Other factors Biological reasons The obesogenic environment Psychological factors Socio-economic determinants Knowledge and education Family responsibility Individual achievement Committee comment

Chapter 6 Community programs and partnerships	(PDF 2755KB)
Introduction Motivation Supportive environment Accessible programs Variety Hands-on experience Sustainability Parental involvement Flow-on benefits Committee comment

Chapter 7 Concluding remarks	(PDF 70KB)

Appendix A - Submissions	(PDF 68KB)

Appendix B - Exhibits	(PDF 87KB)

Appendix C – Public Hearings, Inspections and Private Briefings	(PDF 88KB)

Appendix D – Food Matters: UK Government review of food and food policy - Register of Action Leads	(PDF 147KB)