Healthy Weight 2008 - Australia's Future - The National Action Agenda for children and young people and their families
Framework for action
Up to Nutrition and Physical Activity
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Table of contents- Introduction
- Terms of reference for the National Obesity Taskforce
- National Obesity Taskforce Membership
- Scientific Reference Group
- Consultative Forum
- Strategic intent
- Goals
- Urgent need for action
- Guiding principles
- Framework for action
- Action strategies for children and young people (aged 0-18 years)
- Stakeholder support
- Success factors for implementation
- Settings Strategies
- Primary Care Services (including general medical proactice, community health centres, and other community-based and private sector services)
- Schools - Primary and Secondary (including public and private schools, and use of school facilities)
- Family and Community Care Services (including social work, child protection, juvenile justice, Centrelink, outreach services to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups
- Maternal and infant health (including hospitals, infant and child health clinics, community health services)
- Neightbourhoods and community organisations (including state/territory government, local government, community groups, recreation and sporting bodies, and private organisations)
- Workplaces (including government, private and non government work settings both formal and informal)
- Food Supply (including food producers, manufacturers, and retailers, eg supermarkets, markets, stores, and food service outlets eg restaurants, cafes and take-aways)
- Media and Marketing (including television, cinemas, videos, electronic games, print, internet and commercial advertising, marketing and promtions)
- Support for Families and Community-Wide Education (including public policy and support strategies for families, and planned mass media communication and education)
- 'Whole of Community' Demonstration Areas - (integrated actions from all the Settings implemented in discrete population areas as potential models for wider long term implementation in other communities and to enhance community ownership and capacity for sustained action-previous examples have been effective)
- Evidence and Performance Monitoring (including measurement, analysis, evaluation, policy and action research to inform planning and management, and enhance accountability)
- Coordination and Capacity Building (including strategic management, operational coordination, infrastructure support, community and stakeholder strengthening, and professional development)
Healthy Weight 2008 presents a national strategic framework for action to address the challenges of overweight and obesity in children and young people (ie aged 0-18 years) and their families. A four-year time frame will form the first phase of a long-term approach. To kick-start the work an initial set of actions commencing in 2004 is suggested. These would need to be implemented by the health sector in collaboration with their colleagues in government, the private and nongovernment sectors. Further action will be needed beyond the life of this plan to address the particular issues and settings relevant to adults and older Australians. Healthy Weight 2008 should be seen as a first step towards shaping Australia’s future for better health and wellbeing.
A key requirement will be to support young people and their families both in the home and in the wider community. To reach them and to address the underlying environmental and lifestyle causes of overweight in young people, a cross-sectoral, multi-settings approach will be needed. In addition to actions in specific settings, a number of key national level actions are required. Together these will focus on what can be done in practice and will identify those responsible for taking action.
The private and non-government sectors as well as the broader community have a vital role to play together with the public sector. Within government there is a clear need for action across a wide range of portfolios and levels of government, such as health, education, family and community services, environment, transport, sport and recreation, infrastructure and planning. A key success factor will be how well these different areas can work together.
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