DSpace Collection: 89-184 (April, 2021)

Failures with COVID-19 at the international level must not be repeated in an era facing global catastrophic biological risks

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Failures with COVID-19 at the international level must not be repeated in an era facing global catastrophic biological risks Authors: Boyd, Matt; Wilson, Nick

Reporting physical activity in minutes not bouts: findings from a survey in Australia

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Reporting physical activity in minutes not bouts: findings from a survey in Australia Authors: Corbett, Lucy; Bohn-Goldbaum, Erika; Crane, Melanie; Engelen, Lina Abstract: Objective: Physical activity has been commonly measured as time spent in bouts of at least 10 minutes, however, each minute of physical activity achieved in a day is now regarded as beneficial. This study aims to compare differences in total time spent walking in a week to time spent walking in 10-minute bouts over the same seven-day period. Methods: Two self-reported measures of time spent walking were compared: one using time-constrained bouts and the other using total minutes. The first measure comes from the validated Active Australia Survey and reports walking in bouts of 10min or more, the second measure reports total estimated time spent walking. Results: Data from 4,582 university participants in a census-styled survey were analysed. When comparing the reported minutes of walking in either 10-minute bouts or total minutes, more walking occurs in short bursts with a difference of 117min/week (p<0.001). Conclusions: This result shows more walking is reported across a week in short bursts of less than 10 minutes. Implications for public health: To monitor trends and evaluate physical activity interventions, reliable and valid measures of physical activity are necessary. Our result questions the usefulness of reporting bouted-walking as a measure which accurately captures population behaviour.

Are young adults’ discussions of public health nutrition policies associated with common food industry discourses? A qualitative pilot study

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Are young adults’ discussions of public health nutrition policies associated with common food industry discourses? A qualitative pilot study Authors: Howse, Eloise; Hankey, Catherine; Bauman, Adrian; Freeman, Becky Abstract: Objective: Unhealthy diets are a key risk factor for chronic disease, with young adults (18–30 years old) in high-income countries like Australia and the UK particularly at risk. Improved public health nutrition policies can help address unhealthy diets in the population, but many of the more regulatory policies are opposed by food industry groups. This research explores how young adults in Australia and the UK discuss a range of topical public health nutrition policies and analyses whether and how their views may be associated with food industry discourses. Methods: Eight focus groups were held in Sydney, Australia, and Glasgow, UK, with a total of thirty young adults participating. A deliberative-style method was used in the focus groups to generate discussion about six public health nutrition policies, such as taxation of sugarsweetened beverages and restrictions on advertising of less-healthy foods. Discourse analysis was used to examine participants’ discussions. Results: Twenty discourse codes were developed iteratively from the focus group data. These were thematically linked with nine food industry discourses found in the peer-reviewed literature, including industry self-regulation, personal responsibility, corporate social responsibility and challenging nutrition science. Conclusions: These results demonstrate there is an association between common food industry discourses and some young adults’ views about public health nutrition policies. Implications for public health: Identifying, engaging with and responding to common industry discourses is a priority in order to build greater public support and acceptability of policies that will improve diet and prevent chronic disease.

Young people’s reflections on the factors contributing to the normalisation of gambling in Australia

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Young people’s reflections on the factors contributing to the normalisation of gambling in Australia Authors: Nyemcsok, Christian; Thomas, Samantha L.; Pitt, Hannah; Pettigrew, Simone; Cassidy, Rebecca; Daube, Mike Abstract: Objectives: To explore young people’s perceptions of the factors that may normalise gambling, and their opinions about the messages they see about gambling in their environments. Methods: An analysis of qualitative data from a mixed methods study of n=111 young people aged 11–16 years in Victoria, Australia. Questions investigated: i) the normalisation of gambling in sport; ii) the impact of advertising on young people; and iii) potential strategies to alert young people about the risks associated with gambling. An inductive approach was used to analyse the data. Results: Participants perceived that gambling was a regular and everyday activity and that gambling was becoming normalised in sport. However, some directly challenged this alignment. They were particularly critical that gambling advertising may influence young people’s current and future gambling-related attitudes and intentions. Most participants supported public health interventions, including more advertising restrictions. Conclusion: Young people’s awareness of gambling and gambling marketing may be increasing their perceptions of the alignment between gambling and sport. Implications for public health: Strategies should be developed to increase young people’s awareness of the risks associated with gambling. Young people’s voices and views should be considered by policy makers in responding to this new public health issue.