Publications about diet

Toolkit for developing local strategies (UK)

07 Oct 2008 | Entitled 'Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A toolkit for developing local strategies', this sizeable (5MB) pdf is 'a toolkit is to help [UK] PCTs and Local Authorities plan, coordinate and implement comprehensive strategies to prevent and manage overweight and obesity. It provides information and tools including useful statistics, practical initiatives, evidence of effectiveness, checklists, frameworks and examples of good practice.'

Change4Life

10 Sep 2008 | The Change4Life initiative is a government scheme to bring together multiple stakeholders to help to 'change the lives of families in England by improving their diet, exercise and attitude to good health'. It is a national movement, launched in autumn 2008 before a major publicity campaign starts in January 2009.

The growing cost of obesity: three years on

22 Aug 2008 | In 2006, Access Economics released a report for Diabetes Australia, which was quite conservative in its projections of obesity prevalence and estimates of attributable fractions for conditions associated with obesity. This current report seeks to use new data that have become available subsequently to update the estimates.

FTC: Marketing food to children | 2.8 MB

30 Jul 2008 | This major report, 'Marketing food to children and adolescents: a review of industry expenditures, activities, and self-regulation', by the Federal Trade Commission is the first accurately to assess the spending by 44 major US food and beverage companies on their marketing to children. In 2006, $1.6 billion was spent on advertising aimed at 2- to 17-year-olds. The report aims to be a benchmark for future years.

Workplace wellness: the food industry | 1.2 MB

24 Jul 2008 | This short brochure, 'Workplace wellness: the food industry in action', from the Food and Drink Federation, is a series of case studies from its member companies, promoting the positive changes they have made to health in their workplaces, including Danone, Mars UK and Tate & Lyle. More information also here: https://www.fdf.org.uk/workplace_communities.aspx

Obesity prevention in children

30 Jun 2008 | This report, available to read and download free, is a summary of a June 2008 Institute of Medicine (US) workshop on 'Community perspectives on obesity prevention in children'. It describes various locally-based childhood obesity prevention programs, their challenges and promises.

Obesity: should there be a law against it?

25 Jun 2008 | This series of open-access articles draws on an Australia and New Zealand Health Policy conference in 2006. It includes contributions from Boyd Swinburn and Roger Magnusson (who also edited the series).

Healthy Eating Toolkit | 1.5 MB

23 Jun 2008 | This publication by Business in the Community gives practical guidance in promoting healthy eating in companies, as part of an integrated health and wellbeing programme. It was 'created by employers for employers', drawing on their expertise, and provides best-practice, the business case for promoting healthy eating, and a model for creating a healthy-eating initiative.

Food and the environment | 1.3 MB

18 Jun 2008 | This presentation (here in pdf form) was given by Julie Woods, of Monash University, for the Public Health Association of Australia, Food and Nutrition Special Interest Group. It provides a clear and graphic explanation of the links between the environment (particularly climate change) and the food that we eat.

OxHA workplace health programme | 41.2 kB

18 Jun 2008 | A short introduction to the OxHA approach to workplace health (see also the 'Initiatives' section of this website).

Proof of the pudding

30 Apr 2008 | This document is a presentation summarising the results of a benchmarking of '10 of the world's largest food companies' response to obesity and related health concerns'. It is published by JP Morgan and Insight Investment, and includes recommendations and case studies.

Finegood Healthy Food presentation summit 08 | 1.3 MB

26 Feb 2008 | Presentation (pdf) given by Diane Finegood at the OxHA Summit '08: 'Making Healthy Food Available, Affordable and Profitable: A Complex Systems Perspective'

Healthy choices in hospital | 87.0 kB

01 Feb 2008 | This article 'Healthy choices in hospital vending machines and canteens?' is by Christine Hancock, Katy Cooper and Karen Siegel, and is published in the International Hospital Federation's Annual Reference Book. It is a call to action for hospitals to take a lead in providing appropriate food and beverages to visitors and hospital employees, as well as patients.

CVD and risk factors in England

31 Jan 2008 | This document is the Health Survey for England 2006, and contains information on CVD and the risk factors, including smoking, obesity, physical activity, fruit/veg consumption etc. It includes statistics on these risk factors broken down by household income quintile.

Healthy weight, healthy lives | 1.9 MB

23 Jan 2008 | This 'cross-government strategy for England' includes the ambition for the country to be the first to 'reverse the rising tide of obesity and overweight'. It focuses particularly on childhood obesity, and takes a holistic view of how to address the 'obesogenic environment' - linking personal responsibility with the responsibility of government to facilitate healthy choices.

QNI campaign | 54.3 kB

21 Jan 2008 | This press release, entitled 'Don't forget to nurse number one!' lanuches a campaign by the Queen's Nursing Institute (UK) to support community nurses in tending to their own health and wellbeing. OxHA is a partner in the first stage of the campaign, which focuses on healthy eating, exercise and smoking cessation.

Food/drink companies and population health

03 Dec 2007 | This article, 'Can food and beverage companies help improve population health? Some insights from PepsiCo', is by Derek Yach, Antonio Lucio and Carlos Barroso and is part of a series published in the MJA (3/17 December 2007).

Public health: ethical issues

13 Nov 2007 | This report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics considers the responsibilities of government, industry, individuals and others in promoting the health of everyone. The Council concludes that the state has a particular duty to help people lead a healthy life and to reduce inequalities. It addresses obesity and tobacco use, in particular.

WCRF UK report

31 Oct 2007 | This major report by the World Cancer Research Fund, 'Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective', was published on 31 October. It includes a series of recommendations that people can incorporate into their daily lives, and received considerable media coverage.

MEND in Denmark

29 Oct 2007 | This link is to documents from an information meeting of the MEND programme, which is being developed for a Danish audience, in partnership with OxHA.