Food and drink company sponsorship of children's sport: publicity or philanthropy? Currently food and beverage company sport sponsorship in Australia has not been analyzed or regulated. The proposed research will incorporate both of these neglected areas by determining current patterns of food company sponsorship and by driving new programs and policies to support sporting organisations in promoting children's health in a consistent fashion. This study will challenge commonly held assumptions an ....Food and drink company sponsorship of children's sport: publicity or philanthropy? Currently food and beverage company sport sponsorship in Australia has not been analyzed or regulated. The proposed research will incorporate both of these neglected areas by determining current patterns of food company sponsorship and by driving new programs and policies to support sporting organisations in promoting children's health in a consistent fashion. This study will challenge commonly held assumptions and social norms relating to the value of food company sponsorship, which is classically viewed as good corporate behaviour, but may in fact have adverse health effects.Read moreRead less
Applying a logic model to link unhealthy food promotion to childhood obesity. This project aims to develop new evidence about the influence of unhealthy food marketing on children’s food attitudes, choices and consumption behaviours. Children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is recognised by leading international health organisations as a contributor to poor diets and overweight, and is a target for population health intervention. Outcomes from this project aim to contribute to national an ....Applying a logic model to link unhealthy food promotion to childhood obesity. This project aims to develop new evidence about the influence of unhealthy food marketing on children’s food attitudes, choices and consumption behaviours. Children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is recognised by leading international health organisations as a contributor to poor diets and overweight, and is a target for population health intervention. Outcomes from this project aim to contribute to national and international policy solutions for limiting children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing, by providing original information on the direct and sustained impact of food marketing exposures on children’s overall food intake and dietary quality and the mechanisms that underpin this relationship.Read moreRead less
A taxonomy of Australian consumers' food and health knowledge. Identification and measurement of the basic dimensions of food knowledge of consumers will inform new education curricula and community communication programs. The findings will enable better targeting of community and industry education by policy planners, education authorities, and the food industry. They will also enable monitoring and evaluation of food communication programs. In the longer term, this research may also enable cit ....A taxonomy of Australian consumers' food and health knowledge. Identification and measurement of the basic dimensions of food knowledge of consumers will inform new education curricula and community communication programs. The findings will enable better targeting of community and industry education by policy planners, education authorities, and the food industry. They will also enable monitoring and evaluation of food communication programs. In the longer term, this research may also enable citizens to deal with the changes caused by climate change, metabolic disease and increasing longevity; help educate more literate food industry workers; enhance communications between citizens, industry and government; and generate greater demand for higher quality food products.
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Exposure to alcohol advertising and sponsorship in Australian televised sport: association with explicit and implicit alcohol cognitions and drinking. The project will examine whether alcohol advertising and sponsorship in televised sport is related to positive alcohol-related thoughts and alcohol consumption in young adults. The project will use novel methods that assess both conscious and unconscious alcohol-related attitudes, and will provide important evidence for informing alcohol policy.
Weighing the impact: How do Australian families interpret and respond to population messaging about obesity, weight loss and physical activity? How do adults and adolescents - both fat and thin - respond to the range of obesity messages that they are exposed to in their everyday lives? This study investigates the attitudes and opinions of 150 families about current obesity campaigns, and will develop a practical template for improving current obesity messaging strategies.
Individual, social and physical environmental influences on children's active transport and independent mobility. Childhood obesity is likely to have significant economic and social impacts on Australian society. Preventing further increases in this disease is crucial, particularly among children at high risk such as those living in rural or disadvantaged areas. The promotion of behaviours such as active transport may have a significant benefit for public health; however little is known about wh ....Individual, social and physical environmental influences on children's active transport and independent mobility. Childhood obesity is likely to have significant economic and social impacts on Australian society. Preventing further increases in this disease is crucial, particularly among children at high risk such as those living in rural or disadvantaged areas. The promotion of behaviours such as active transport may have a significant benefit for public health; however little is known about what influences active transport among children in rural or disadvantaged areas. This study will identify important factors influencing active transport and will directly inform strategies aiming to promote health and wellbeing, thereby creating a healthier generation of Australian children.Read moreRead less
What will it take to decrease socio-economic inequalities in obesity? There is little understanding of how the increasing prevalence of obesity, and its prevention and management, may contribute to socio-economic inequalities in health. This project aims to identify policies that are most likely to both decrease the prevalence of obesity and decrease associated inequalities in health.
Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of ma ....Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of marketing strategies used to sell sports wagering in Australia; important qualitative insights into the impact of these marketing strategies on gambling behaviours; and, recommendations for a comprehensive public health approach to help counter the potential long and short term risks associated with sports wagering marketing.Read moreRead less
Understanding women's experiences of unplanned pregnancy and abortion. The economic, health and social costs to the Australian community of unplanned pregnancies and abortions constitute a public health concern of undoubted significance. Debates in both policy and public arenas are hampered by a lack of comprehensive reliable evidence about incidence of abortion and the factors underlying decisions to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Further, there is considerable variation among Australian stat ....Understanding women's experiences of unplanned pregnancy and abortion. The economic, health and social costs to the Australian community of unplanned pregnancies and abortions constitute a public health concern of undoubted significance. Debates in both policy and public arenas are hampered by a lack of comprehensive reliable evidence about incidence of abortion and the factors underlying decisions to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Further, there is considerable variation among Australian states regarding abortion-related legislation. The data generated from this project will establish an evidence base, inform potential legislative change and monitor any effects, and improve delivery of appropriate health services and strategies to prevent unplanned pregnancies and their adverse consequences.
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Investigating the health benefits of volunteering by seniors. For humanitarian and economic reasons, it is important to promote health-enhancing behaviours among older people to optimise their well-being. Volunteering constitutes one such behaviour. While there is some evidence that older people benefit from volunteering, there is inadequate data for policy development purposes. This project will quantify the physical and mental outcomes of seniors’ engagement in volunteering activities to asses ....Investigating the health benefits of volunteering by seniors. For humanitarian and economic reasons, it is important to promote health-enhancing behaviours among older people to optimise their well-being. Volunteering constitutes one such behaviour. While there is some evidence that older people benefit from volunteering, there is inadequate data for policy development purposes. This project will quantify the physical and mental outcomes of seniors’ engagement in volunteering activities to assess the potential to enhance their health while providing much-needed labour inputs to the Australian economy. The results will also suggest ways to encourage older people to engage in volunteering by identifying effective ways to communicate the benefits to this audience.Read moreRead less