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

People vs profits: The Lancet series on Commercial Determinants of Health and beyond (99205)

Rob Moodie 1
  1. University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia

Commercial actors play a vital role in society, yet the practices and products of many large corporations are responsible for escalating levels of avoidable ill health and social and health inequity; problems increasingly referred to as the ‘commercial determinants of health’ (CDoH). While much is known about how commercial products such as tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods and fossil fuels damage health, the many other ways in which commercial practices in pursuit of profit can harm health and drive inequities are often overlooked in public health. 

This interactive workshop is based on the seminal Lancet series on CDoH and aims to provide contemporary thinking and evidence on the CDoH and encourage audience discussion about how the public health community can act in concert with other sectors to address the CDoH.

Key questions that the workshop will address

  • How can we best define and understand the CDOH?
  • What are they key pathways through which the commercial sector influences health?
  • How can we better understand and deal with the diversity of corporate actors? 
  • What potential solutions can be taken to redress the inequitable health harms arising from this complex problem?
  • What role(s) can be played by public health actors?
  • Who are the other actors we need to align and work with?