The role of public health dietary messages and guidelines in tackling overweight and obesity issues

Lee, Yi Yi, Tan, David, Siri, José, Newell, Barry, Gong, Yi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2936-4476, Proust, Katrina and Marsden, Terry ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0503-2039 2020. The role of public health dietary messages and guidelines in tackling overweight and obesity issues. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 26 (1) , 031-050. 10.31246/mjn-2019-0084

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (506kB)

Abstract

Overweight and obesity in Malaysia pose serious threats to health. Prevalence has escalated to alarming levels in recent decades despite a multitude of dietary public health messages geared toward obesity prevention and health promotion. Gaps between health messages, messengers, and the public must be identified and closed to effectively combat obesity and overweight. This review article aims to examine dietary public health messages, guidelines, and programmes for the prevention of obesity in Malaysia, and explore potential reasons for the continued rise in prevalence. Dietary public health communication in Malaysia has progressed and improved substantially over the years. However, most messages have been designed for a general audience, with little consideration of differences in physical, social, cultural, and environment backgrounds, and varying levels of comprehension. We offer several recommendations to increase the effectiveness of dietary public health messages in fighting the obesity epidemic, based on a cross-sectoral, place-based approach that recognizes the complexity of underlying causes of obesity.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL) Medicine Sustainable Places Research Institute (PLACES)
ISSN:	1394 – 035X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 February 2020
Date of Acceptance:	20 January 2020
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2024 04:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/129991

Citation Data

Cited 4 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item