Move Well Eat Well: Case study of a successful settings-based approach to health promotion

Childhood obesity has emerged as a significant global public health issue in the twenty-first century. The World Health Organization's Report on the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (World Health Organization (WHO], 2016) reports a substantial increase in the proportion of overweight and obese children in the last three decades. The issue is most prevalent in countries with populations in the middle to upper income range including Australia; however almost all countries are encountering increases in the number of overweight children.

The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) and the WHO advocate integrated, holistic and strategic settings-based approaches for promoting children's health. In this chapter, the Tasmanian Moue Well Eat Well initiative is profiled as one such strategic settings-based intervention implemented to address the overweight and obesity trend in young children. The program is offered to all schools with a primary enrolment and early childhood education and care services (ECEC) across the state of Tasmania, Australia, with a view to normalising physical activity and healthy eating for all children in these settings.

This chapter begins with a brief overview of childhood obesity and the settings- based approach to obesity prevention. The Move Well Eat Well program is described, highlighting key factors that have been important in establishing and sustaining the program in relation to the IUHPE (2009) guidelines. The chapter concludes with provocations for considering the insights from the Move Well Eat Well program in relation to other healthy settings initiatives, and other educational contexts.