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The possibility of regulating for obesity prevention – understanding regulation in the C ommonwealth G overnment
Author(s) -
Crammond B.,
Van C.,
Allender S.,
Peeters A.,
Lawrence M.,
Sacks G.,
Mavoa H.,
Swinburn B. A.,
Loff B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12004
Subject(s) - commonwealth , psychological intervention , government (linguistics) , obesity , intervention (counseling) , medicine , government regulation , public policy , political science , public relations , business , environmental health , public administration , nursing , law , linguistics , philosophy , china
Summary A complex regulatory package is likely to be necessary to effectively reduce obesity prevalence in developed countries. This study investigated the barriers and facilitators to implementing regulatory interventions to prevent obesity within the executive arm of the A ustralian C ommonwealth G overnment. Policy reviews were conducted on nine government departments to understand their roles and interests in obesity. From this process we identified regulatory review carried out by the O ffice of B est P ractice R egulation as possibly posing a barrier to law reform for obesity prevention, along with the complexity of the food policymaking structures. The policy reviews informed subsequent in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with senior C ommonwealth government officers ( n = 13) focused on refining our understanding of the barriers to enacting obesity prevention policy. In addition to the two barriers already identified, interviewees identified a lack of evidence for interventions, which would reduce obesity prevalence, and the influence of politicians on executive decisions as posing obstacles. Most interviewees believed that the barriers to regulating to prevent obesity were strong and that intervention by elected politicians would be the most likely method of implementing obesity prevention policy.