Preventing Childhood Obesity - Evidence Policy and Practice.pdf

The role of advocacy
Why d o w e n eed a dvocacy?
Building healthy public policy is central to the prevention
of overweight and obesity. The UK Foresight
report outlines the complexity of the drivers of obesity,
while highlighting that most are societal issues and,
therefore, require a societal response. 5 Unfortunately,
action to address overweight and obesity often
becomes tied up in the complexities of prevention,
thereby resulting in a lack of action.
Yach 6 identified three key levers to support health
policy change:
• raising the profile of the issue in the minds and on
the agendas of policy - makers
• providing policy-makers with the necessary evidence
to support the case for prevention
• persuading them of the need for changes in the
health system away from acute care to prevention.
Advocacy is an important strategy to effect policy
reform and it is important that policy - makers are provided
with clear and coherent directions on which
they feel that they can deliver. 2 Advocacy can be influential
in setting the agenda, shaping the debate (the
media is critical here), and in advancing particular
policy positions.
Elements of e ffective a dvocacy
Public health advocacy requires careful planning to
ensure effectiveness and often requires support from
relevant organizational systems, managers and external
funders — a case that, in itself, may require “ advocacy
”. 7 It important to understand that facilitating
structural change is a long - term proposition and this
also needs to be considered when establishing and
building capacity for advocacy. 8
Components of an effective advocacy campaign
include:9
• Clear specific policy goals. It is important to identify
the problem and then propose specific policy
solutions (see Box 23.1 ).
• Solid research and science base for action.
Proposing evidence - based best practice helps to
guide effective interventions, and adds credibility to
the campaign and to the likelihood of success.
Access to research, such as public opinion and local
data are also important to help localize an issue and
support media advocacy.
Box 23.1 Global dump soda
campaign
Global Dump Soda Campaign is spearheaded by the
Center for Science in the Public Interest ( CSPI ), and the
International Association of Consumer Food
Organization s ( IACFO ). CSPI is a leading North
American non - governmental consumer advocacy
organization fighting for improvements in diet and
health. IACFO is a coalition of consumer organizations
concerned about diet and health, food safety, and
related food and agriculture policy issues. The campaign
calls on governments around the world to make
demands on soft drinks companies, including to: cease
all marketing to children under 16; restrict products
sold to children in schools; display energy content on
packaging; and limit sponsorship to blind trusts. More
information can be found on www.dumpsoda.org .
• Values linked to fairness, equity and social
justice. Consideration must be given to creating
rules for opportunity for engagement by others in
the campaign. Equity and access issues also need to
be assessed when considering policy proposals and
their impact. 10
• Broad - based community participation. Those
affected most by the problem need to have a voice
in defining solutions. However, where advocacy
needs to be undertaken on behalf of children, this
lends itself to be driven and supported by the public
health community 11 (see Box 23.2 ).
• Network and coalition building.
12 Building a broad but loose support base for action
with groups who share the same concerns can be
invaluable to advocacy. International networks of
activists who focus on specific issues can provide
experience and intelligence that can be translated to
support an advocacy agenda. Establishing a formal
coalition of agencies, respected by government, to
support a particular issue can give power and credibility
to its views (see Box 23.3 ).
• Understanding the opposition. Gathering strategic
intelligence about the opposition is critical to
countering their views and can include materials
such as advertising spend, market share, advertising
campaign successes and inside views from the food
and advertising industry. This information can be
found in advertising industry magazines, business
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