Bethany Dortmans, on behalf of The Cancer Council Vic, reports on a recent roundtable focussing on the role of digital media in promoting junk food to young people The rise of social media and digital marketing is exposing young children and teenagers to junk food advertising from all directions, according to key figures in obesity prevention. [...]

In December last year Professor Fran Baum wrote New SA report shows why governments are failing to control health spending for this blog in response to the McCann Review of Non-Hospital Based Services. In that article Professor Baum lamented the lack of understanding of community services and primary health care that leads to questionable funding decisions. [...]

Dr Melissa Stoneham writes: First we had FIFO (fly in fly out), then along came DIDO (drive in, drive out) and now we have DODOs. The term DODO, which stands for driver only, driver owned car, was used by the late Professor Frank Fisher from Swinburne University. In memory of Professor Fisher, the latest JournalWatch [...]

The Parliamentary Library has recently published analyses about the increase in private health insurance premiums, the National Disability Insurance Scheme legislation, and food labelling. Thanks to the Parliamentary Library for allowing cross-posting. Increase in PHI premiums Amanda Biggs tracks premium rises and the consumer price index (CPI) and shows that premium rises have been well [...]

The campaign to curb the promotion of unhealthy food has not only the strident claims of  “nanny state” to counter.  There are also the “health washing” tactics of the food industry, pushing high sugar, high fat and high salt products to children and their parents. These ploys range from the fatuous to the fanciful, but [...]

Besides former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the corporate heavyweights from Australia attending this month’s Davos economic summit was a leading figure in the campaign for healthier cities, Fiona Bull. The surging prevalence of obesity and calls for more effective measures to counter the convenience food and drink conglomerates were aired at the World Economic [...]

Chris Forbes-Ewan writes: Forty years ago, British nutritionist John Yudkin wrote a book about sugar. Titled Pure, White and Deadly, Yudkin argued that consumption of sugar, not fat, was driving the epidemic of heart disease. But the evidence he put forward was not convincing, so Yudkin’s book (and reputation) fell from favour. Studies conducted in the [...]

Todd Harper, CEO of Cancer Council Victoria, gives us an insight into his personal discussions with the late Professor Gavin Mooney and how Australia can learn from the public health agenda of New York city Mayor  Michael Bloomberg.  Of course, Gavin Mooney was an excellent economist. But that’s not what was important about Gavin Mooney. Like all well schooled economists he understood [...]