Category Archives: obesity

A wrap of recent news on McDonald’s, marketing and health (and some parallel universes)

May 14, 2012 – 7:28 pm

When it comes to food and health, it seems that we are living in parallel universes. In one universe, there is a new report from The Institute of Medicine in the US, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation, urging governments and decision makers (including those in the private sector) “to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, Food, health and medical research, public health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

McDonald’s programming gets roasted

April 3, 2012 – 6:17 pm

According to The Australian: “The McDonald’s advertiser-funded program on Seven won its 9.30pm timeslot last night with an average audience of 761,000. The fast food giant paid for“McDonald’s Get Grilled” to be produced by independent house WTFN and Seven scheduled the show despite it being a thinly-veiled advertisement…” According to Mumbrella: “A show about and [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Food, health & medical marketing, Media-related issues, public health | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

A proposal for busting unhealthy workplaces

February 16, 2012 – 4:20 pm

While the previous post makes a suggestion for how the Federal Government could ensure healthier, fairer food policy, in the article below health policy consultant Margo Saunders suggests workplaces (including government departments) could be doing more to promote good health. She suggests that we need a bit of online activism, in the vein of The [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, Food, occupational health, public health | Tagged , | Comments (2)

When doctors “prescribe” exercise, does it make any difference?

February 3, 2012 – 4:15 pm

Doctors are often encouraged to “prescribe” exercise to sedentary patients, but it’s not been clear whether such initiatives make any difference, to either peoples’  level of activity or their health. In its latest Croakey update, the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (better known as PHC RIS) highlights a recent systematic review and meta-analysis [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in evidence-based issues, Journal articles, physical activity, primary health care | Comments (0)

Fat Free TV: helping families reduce junk food viewing

February 1, 2012 – 12:39 pm

The British Heart Foundation recently released a report documenting how food companies are marketing unhealthy foods to children online, using tactics such as free games, gifts and downloads, fun characters and social networking sites. The report is called: The 21st century gingerbread house: How companies are marketing junk food to children online. It’s good to [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, health & medical marketing, Media-related issues, public health | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Healthy Weight Week: what is it really promoting?

January 20, 2012 – 1:01 pm

Healthy Weight Week is due to kick off on Sunday. But Professor Mike Daube, Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Curtin University, wonders whose interests are really being served by this initiative. *** What have Coco Pops and Froot Loops got to do with healthy weight? Mike Daube writes: National Healthy Weight Week [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in conflicts of interest, Food, public health | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

A rather large wrap of recent Croakey articles: public health, health reform, media coverage of health and more

January 11, 2012 – 10:25 am

As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please send your email or leave it below. Here is the latest compilation, covering from 6 October – December 23, 2011. The latest readership figures are now also available, showing that [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in abortion, alcohol, cancer, child health, childbirth and maternity services, climate change, complementary medicines, conflicts of interest, consumer health information, death and dying, dental care, evidence-based issues, Food, global health, health and medical research, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, health workforce, Hospitals, Indigenous health, infectious diseases, Media Doctor Australia, Medicare Locals, mental health, MyHospitals website, pain, palliative care, pharmacy, physical activity, prevention, primary health care, public health, quality and safety of health care, rural and remote health, SensaSlim, social determinants of health, social media and healthcare, TGA, The Conversation, tobacco control, vaccination, vaccines, WHO | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Is Victoria the pace-setter in health promotion?

December 16, 2011 – 11:45 am

It’s just over three years since COAG announced The National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health (NPAPH), which is providing $872.1 million over six years from 2009-10, and is billed as the “largest investment ever made by an Australian Government in health promotion for healthy eating and physical activity”. These recent job advertisements, for health promotion [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in chronic diseases, evidence-based issues, Food, health reform, National Preventive Health Agency, occupational health, prevention, public health, social determinants of health | Comments (0)

The latest wrap of health and medical reading at The Conversation

November 11, 2011 – 7:40 pm

Thanks to Fron Jackson-Webb from The Conversation for providing this latest wrap of  health and medical news. The stories below cover pharma industry lobbying, the pokies debate, and plenty more… *** The tricks companies use to get over-priced drugs on the PBS By Thomas Faunce, ARC Future Fellow at Australian National University: Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturer of [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in childbirth and maternity services, gambling, health & medical marketing, men's health, mental health, pharmaceutical benefits scheme, pharmaceutical industry, pharmacy, public health, women's health | Comments (0)

A wrap of recent health news at Croakey

October 5, 2011 – 5:40 pm

Hola – I am back on deck. A large thanks to Jennifer Doggett for driving Croakey while I was away, and to Ben Harris-Roxas for looking after the Twitter feed. As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in aged care, alcohol, cancer, chronic diseases, climate change, Cochrane Collaboration, complementary medicines, Croakey Register of Influencers in Public Health, diabetes, disabilities, evidence-based issues, health and medical education, health and medical research, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, health regulation, health workforce, Indigenous health, Journal articles, Media Doctor Australia, Media-related issues, Medicare Locals, mental health, pharmacy, prevention, primary health care, private health insurance, public health, quality and safety of health care, rural and remote health, social determinants of health, The Conversation, Uncategorized | Comments (2)