Baillieu Government announces new $40m war on child obesity

Grant McArthur

Herald Sun, 15 August 2011

A Jamie Oliver-style ministry of food is being examined for Victoria as part of the Baillieu Government's new $40 million war on childhood obesity.

Premier Ted Baillieu and Health Minister David Davis today launched the first weapon in their radical anti-obesity blueprint - a healthy eating advice hotline for early childhood services and schools.

The Herald Sun understands the Government is also considering plans for a healthy living program - similar to the Ministry of Food concept devised by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver - with centres to be rolled out in key Victorian communities where families can gain practical advice and take classes in healthy eating, grocery shopping and lifestyle choices.

As new figures reveal one in four Victorian primary school students are overweight or obese, Mr Davis said he was determined to overhaul preventative health measures to combat growing waistlines.

"Almost half of Victorian adults are overweight or obese, and if that trend continues, over half of the adult population in Victoria will be overweight or obese in two years' time," he told the Herald Sun last night.

But obesity researcher Associate Prof John Dixon questioned the evidence supporting the scheme, warning against a money throwing exercise that would repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Yes, we need to prevent obesity and yes we need to target early life nutrition. I commend the Victorian government for the iniative, but we also need to know that we are getting value for money and that there is a clear evidence base for any program or intervention,'' said Prof Dixon of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

"Unfortunately there has been a history in Australia of throwing money at obesity prevention with little indication that it will have any effect.''

Prof Dixon also questioned the success of Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food program, which teaches people skills to cook healthy and economical meals, and has recently been rolled out in Australia.

And Monash University obesity expert Samantha Thomas was concerned the government's proposition was a simplistic approach to a complex socioeconomic problem.

"We know that obesity is caused by a whole range of different factors but the most important one is health inequality - the poorer you are the more likely you are to be fat,'' Dr Thomas said. She said education programs and a hotline for early childhood services and schools were attractive to the middle classes but a low priority for people struggling to pay the bills.

"I really like the fact that they're looking at schools but we can't just assume we can tell people what to do and that's going to solve the problem.

"The underlying reasons why people can't access and a lot of that are structural and that is more difficult for government to address,'' she said.

Dr Thomas said the government needed to subsidise leisure activities and fruit and vegetable options at schools as well as tighten planning regulations to decrease the concentration of fast food in certain areas.

Under the government's proposals, the Victorian Healthy Eating Advisory Service will offer nutrition advice to early childhood services, primary and secondary schools and even hospitals.

The phone and internet-based service includes menu assessments and training for food-service staff, backed up by resources based on National Health and Medical Research Council's Australian Dietary Guidelines.

"It will help schools implement healthy canteen policies, early childhood services to meet national standards and hospitals to implement healthy food and drink choices in their retail food service outlets," Mr Davis said.

Health department officials are still evaluating models for a new healthy living program to educate and support parents, though it is not known if it will be linked to Jamie Oliver's initiative.

Another option being considered is the Family Food Patch program, which relies on family food teachers promoting nutrition and activity in their communities.

Other initiatives to be phased in under the Coalition's preventive health blueprint include:
A CENTRE of Excellence in Intervention and Prevention Science, allowing researchers to evaluate health programs in schools and early childhood settings.
A VICTORIAN Health Promotion for Children Policy to guide the physical health, and social and emotional development of young people.
A RECOGNITION and award program for schools.
A PUBLIC education, engagement and social marketing strategy.

This year the Coalition scrapped Labor's flagship Go For Your Life program, which had heavily promoted nutrition and activity in schools since 2004.

Although details of the new programs will be completed in the coming months, the package is intended to extend health messages into the wider community.

Students at Bentleigh's Tucker Road Primary have given the thumbs-up to the nutrition plan.

The Bentleigh school has developed its own fresh-food curriculum to encourage good habits, with time set aside every day, in every class, for 95 per cent of students to eat fruit and vegies.

Students are taught to cook healthy meals in a specialised kitchen, while healthy choice canteen options include wholemeal-bread sandwiches, fruit, and fruit juice.

with Angus Thompson