There has been a sustained media focus on obesity over the past few months. This has mostly been a step in the right direction, with increased reporting on the lived experience perspective, the systemic issues and biological drivers associated with obesity. However, some media continue to publish the simplistic perspective of personal responsibility. Intended or not, this can harm the advocacy efforts of obesity experts who have been seeking evidence-based treatment options for people who live with obesity. Also – blaming individuals has been the prevailing approach for decades now with the number of adults with obesity doubling between 2008 and 2018. It doesn’t work. It also perpetuates the stigma around obesity, harming those who live with the condition.

A key principle of the Obesity Collective is to bring experts from prevention, treatment, lived experience and stigma together in unified advocacy for a systems response to obesity. Measures for prevention and treatment are both essential, neither will work alone.

As noted in a recent PHRP publication: “Efforts to prevent and treat obesity need to be grounded in science. A historical focus on individual responsibility has been ineffective in halting the rise in obesity prevalence. There needs to be a better understanding of environmental and biological drivers of weight gain to help reduce weight bias and stigma and identify more effective policies for action.”

In some recently published media, we unfortunately have also seen prevention and treatment pitted against each other. This includes comments from medical practitioners who are not experts in obesity which is frustrating. This false dichotomy of prevention vs treatment has held us back in the past with previous politicians citing this as a clear reason for inaction.

We need both prevention AND treatment to shift the dial with obesity. We wouldn’t say one or the other with other health conditions like mental health or cancer.

Preventive action and healthier environments will benefit everyone and help reduce obesity risks longer term but will not be much help to those people living with obesity now who have already tried diet and exercise – often many times.  Likewise, waiting until more and more children and adults experience clinical obesity before treating them does not solve the problem at source.

Obesity is complex and not well understood. This is why we need a collective approach and experts collaborating across prevention and treatment for systems changes, as is the case with our Collective leaders. These are the experts that understand the broader context and challenge and can best comment on changes needed in Australia.