Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2023

How much is invested in obesity prevention in Australia? An analysis of major research and Federal government funding from 2013 to 2022 (97881)

Huong Ngoc Quynh Tran 1 2 3 , Nicole Ward 2 , Marufa Sultana 2 , Moosa Alsubhi 3 4 , Phuong Nguyen 2 , Siti Khadijah Mohammad Asfia 2 3 , Jaithri Ananthapavan 2 3 , Vicki Brown 1 2
  1. Centre of Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  2. Institute for Health Transformation, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE), Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  3. Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retails Environments for Health, Deakin University, Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retails Environments for Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  4. Institute for Health Transformation, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Deakin Health Economics, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Objective: Overweight and obesity are the second leading risk factor in Australia, accounting for 8.4% of total disease burden in 2018. This study aimed to examine the Australian Federal government funding landscape for obesity prevention from 2013 to 2022, acknowledging the important leadership of the Federal government in addressing the obesity epidemic. Understanding funding patterns and trends can better inform resource allocation decisions for obesity prevention.

Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis and narrative synthesis of publicly available data on obesity prevention funding from the Federal government and major federally funded Australian research organisations. Searches were conducted of Australian Federal government budget documents, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Research Council (ARC), and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) funding announcements. Funding allocations specifically targeted obesity prevention or the prevention of risk factors associated with obesity were included, determined by the presence of keywords related to obesity, unhealthy diet, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour. Data from relevant funding allocations was extracted verbatim, coded and narratively synthesised by funding source by two reviewers.

Results: From 2013 to 2022, 180 funding allocations for obesity prevention in Australia were identified, totalling approximately 822 million Australian dollars. The proportion of funding allocated to obesity prevention compared to the total annual budget of each funding source was relatively low, NHMRC – 1%, ARC – 0.2%, MRFF – 0.9%, Federal government – 0.1%. Furthermore, funding for obesity prevention initiatives fluctuated over time.

Conclusions: Findings underscore the need for strategic, adequate and sustained funding allocation to support obesity prevention research and implementation in Australia. Given scarce prevention resources, it is crucial that obesity prevention research identifies interventions that are both effective and cost-effective. Additionally, sufficient and ongoing funding should be allocated by the Federal government for the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based obesity prevention initiatives.