14 May 2021 

In this edition:

• Unhealthy sponsorship of elite sporting teams
• New Ellenbrook fast-food development opposition
• Partner spotlight - Jaithri Ananthapavan
• Local investment in prevention – Department of Health funding announcement
• Wrap up of PHAA Prevention Conference
• UK moves to limit junk food advertising exposure
• We’re hiring – Obesity Prevention Manager
• Upcoming Events

• Latest News and Research

As always, we’d love to hear from you at obesitypolicy@cancerwa.asn.au if you have questions, ideas or research articles to showcase in the next issue. Obesity policy research is undertaken in partnership with Cancer Council WA and the Telethon Kids Institute, and is generously funded by Healthway.

ECU Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics Students Brittany and Jessica (who we introduced in our student spotlight in March) have completed their research project investigating unhealthy promotional content on the Instagram pages of elite sporting teams in WA. They found a concerning number of unhealthy promotions across some of the teams and leagues. The Perth Wildcats had 69% of posts promoting at least one junk food sponsor due to the national league sponsorship deals. This was closely followed by the West Coast Eagles Men’s team with 65%. Four of the seven teams investigated were sponsored by an alcohol or gambling organisation. However, there were some encouraging findings with West Coast Fever championing pro-health sponsors via their partnership with Healthway, with 64% of their posts containing a positive health message.

The results from the study highlight the need for the implementation of a policy to restrict unhealthy sponsorship and promotions of elite sports teams. The students hope that these results can help raise awareness and advocate for change.  This would provide children with the opportunity to follow their favourite teams without being exposed to junk food, alcohol and gambling promotions.

Ellenbrook Fast-Food Development Opposition

It was revealed in Perth Now a few weeks ago that US fast-food giant Taco Bell was coming to Perth with plans for the first standalone outlet in the suburb of Joondalup, north-east of Perth. Along with the Taco Bell, the planning application included a standalone KFC and another structure which would include a further five fast-food outlets.

In response, Cancer Council WA, along with its partners the Telethon Kids Institute, the Western Australian School Canteen Association Inc. and the Heart Foundation prepared a written submission opposing the planning application. Although existing planning laws prevent decision makers from considering health concerns when reviewing planning applications, Cancer Council WA and our partners have called on the City of Swan to engage in a process which gives due weight to the very real risks to the community posed by the approval of this development, and ultimately conclude that these interests outweigh any benefit which might be gained by increasing the number of fast-food outlets. We will continue to monitor the progress of this application and provide an update in future editions of this newsletter.

Jaithri led the economic analysis of the LiveLighter campaign which was released this week, which found that the mass media campaign is both health promoting and cost saving in the long term.

Wrap up of PHAA Prevention Conference – Perth, May 10-12

The decision on whether the face-to-face element of this hybrid conference was to go ahead came down to the wire, but the PHAA Prevention Conference organisers breathed a sigh of relief when WA’s most recent COVID-19 scare was contained, and the PHAA Prevention Conference 2021 went ahead as planned. The first face-to-face PHAA conference in well over a year was a great success, bringing old friends and colleagues together to share insights from their post-COVID worlds.

Some of the projects and research highlighted in past editions of this newsletter were featured in Day 1 of the Concurrent Sessions, including Kelly Kennington presenting on “Outdoor Junk Food Advertising and Industry Tactics – the case for Policy Reform”; and Ainslie Sartori discussed how WA’s Planning Laws could be reconciled with the Public Health Act, highlighting recent fast-food outlet planning applications in Albany and Ellenbrook. Ellen Hart also delivered a conversation starter on “Australian Adults’ Support for Unhealthy Food and Alcohol Policies to Reduce Obesity”.

UK moves to limit junk food advertising exposure

This week the UK Government confirmed that it is pressing ahead with its commitment to address obesity by implementing a 9pm junk food advertising watershed on TV, a total online ban of junk food ads and placing limits on unhealthy product displays in large stores. These are important policy measures that will go a long way to improving health outcome in the UK. 

Cancer Council WA would like to see similar policy action in Australia, and we support the Obesity Policy Coalition’s “Brands off our Kids” campaign which outlines four actions needed by government to protect all Australian children from the processed food industry’s unhealthy food marketing

We’re hiring – Obesity Prevention Manager

Cancer Council WA has an exciting opportunity to join our Cancer Prevention and Research Division  to lead our well-respected, evidence-based Obesity Prevention Team.

Upcoming events

Latest news and research

Lifestyle has a bigger impact on cancer risk than previously thought
World Cancer Research Fund, 25 March 2021
A new WCRF funded study of the UK population found that two of the most common forms of cancer, colorectal and breast, are more preventable than previous research studies have shown. The research found that 67% of UK colorectal cancer cases in men and 60% in women are preventable due to lifestyle factors. It also found that lifestyle factors are responsible for 27% of breast cancer cases in women.

Bristol becomes first city outside London to restrict junk food advertising
Sustain, 10 March 2021
Bristol City Council announced new policy to prioritise public health by taking junk food out of the spotlight and setting the stage for healthier food. The restrictions come two years after the Mayor of London's policy across the Transport for London network.

Cadbury revealed as Wallabies new Major Sponsor
Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 2021
Cadbury will be the Wallabies’ major sponsor for the next five years. This follows the Rugby Australia’s 30-year partnership with Qantas ending at the end of 2020.

The hidden secrets of juice drinks
Food Politics, 13 May 2021
Marion Nestle summarises new research released in the US which showed most of the surveyed parents did not know what was in the juice drinks which they were giving their children.

If you have been forwarded this e-bulletin and would like to subscribe, have any questions or would like any further information about any of the articles included in this newsletter, please contact Cancer Council WA's Obesity Prevention Team at ObesityPolicy@cancerwa.asn.au. If you would like to stay updated on obesity policy between editions you can also follow us on Twitter at ObesityPolicyWA.