Gold Coast Health is leading a collaborative approach to handling rising obesity across the city.
On 2 June the hospital and health service hosted its first Obesity Summit which brought together about 70 key local representatives to discuss the disease, its impact on the community and the public health system and how to reduce the burden of obesity.
Gold Coast has at least 80,000 residents experiencing obesity.
Senior Health Promotion Officer Helen Clifford said reducing the burden of obesity would require organisations to work in partnership to create a collective approach going forward.
“The summit aims to look at the issues our city faces in relation to obesity and how we might actually work to address that in the future.
“The complex nature of obesity requires innovative, coordinated and targeted new solutions,” she said.
“There are a lot of opportunities, as well as barriers to really addressing this problem and we are looking to our community, both our community members, our community professionals and providers as well as our health partners, other government partners, and industry to find some solutions.”
The one-day summit featured presentations from a bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, university researchers, General Practitioner, pharmaceuticals, non-government organisation, physical activity, mental health and a community member living with obesity.
Janelle Reeves shared her story of weight gain prompted by medication to treat other health issues.
“I’m here today …to encourage people not to judge others on how they look because they don’t know what issue they may have behind the scenes, it may not just be about food,” she said.”
