Anna Peeters

• BSc(Hons) PhD
• Managing Director at Deakin University

Objective Use of Online food delivery (OFD) platforms are on the rise and currently there are no public health policies that regulates what and how food is sold on these platforms. Research quantifying and describing the marketing strategies on OFD platforms is limited. Our study aimed to test the consumers’ acceptability of using two screen captur...

Background Access to healthcare significantly influences health outcomes, and rural, regional and remote populations face greater challenges in accessing healthcare than urban populations. Digital health tools, such as remote patient monitoring (RPM), have significant potential to address these healthcare challenges, yet there is little research on...

Background Overweight and obesity in pregnancy are associated with health risks for women and babies. Providing effective weight management during pregnancy is necessary to support appropriate gestational weight gain and improve outcomes for women and their infants. This study aimed to synthesise evidence documenting healthcare-related barriers and...

Background Individuals in rural areas consistently demonstrate higher mortality and morbidity rates, and poorer access to healthcare, compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Optimizing the implementation of evidence-based interventions can reduce these inequities. Existing literature outlines numerous barriers and facilitators to the implement...

Background Achieving nutrition and health equity warrants understanding lived experiences of marginalisation. Yet, people with diverse lived experiences are often inadequately included in food policy advocacy, agenda setting, and development. We aimed to explore cross-sectoral perceptions of engaging people with lived experiences of marginalisation...

Retail food environments play a pivotal role in influencing dietary behaviors, and therefore have huge potential as settings for promoting good nutrition and preventing obesity. Conducting research in retail settings can be challenging due to the varied motivations of the parties involved and the complex nature of retail environments. To improve th...

Objectives Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, yet no comprehensive evaluation of its global economic costs exists. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to examine the costs of CHD treatment by region and CHD subtypes, examine whether there are cost difference by sex, and examine costi...

This overview of reviews synthesizes the effectiveness of obesity prevention interventions in children and adults on BMI/zBMI, following JBI and Cochrane Handbook guidelines. The protocol was prospectively registered in OSF in September 2020. Searches for eligible reviews were run in five databases and gray literature in May 2022. Systematic review...

Community‐based interventions (CBIs) can be effective and feasible for the prevention of childhood obesity. The aim of this umbrella review is to determine if systematic reviews report sufficient information to guide replication or adaptation of CBIs to a variety of contexts and aid in further development of childhood obesity prevention CBIs. Six d...

A scoping review was conducted to identify barriers and enablers to effective weight management in healthcare settings for people living with overweight and obesity in English‐speaking high‐income countries. Peer‐reviewed and gray literature were systematically searched in June 2024. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Of the 15,6...

Countries around the world are experiencing both a growing need for mental health services and major gaps in the delivery of mental healthcare. The World Health Organisation's 2022 report on mental health emphasised co‐designed and systems‐level innovations responsive to the voice of those with lived experience. However, evidence for implementing s...

Complex food retail settings, where multiple food retail outlets operate in close proximity are common. Despite their ubiquity, there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding healthy food retail interventions implemented within these settings. Furthermore, understanding the factors affecting the implementation of interventions in these setting...

Increasing the healthiness of food retail environments is an identified mechanism to help halt rising rates of diet‐related non‐communicable diseases. Previous studies on healthy food environment adoption report that retailers' perceptions of loss of profitability and higher food costs are often barriers to change. Despite this, actual changes to p...

Objective We aimed to understand what influences parents’ purchasing behaviours when shopping for groceries online, and potential ways to improve the healthiness of online grocery platforms. Design We conducted semi-structured interviews, guided by the Marketing Mix framework. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Setting Online i...

Aim Online food delivery services (OFDS) are popular for purchasing meals prepared outside home, increasing access to energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods. This adversely impacts dietary choices and health outcomes. Our study examined trends in OFDS use in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) from 2018 to 2...

Objective A digital divide exists for people from rural and regional areas where they are less likely and confident to engage in digital health technologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the digital health literacy and engagement of people from rural and regional communities, with a focus on identifying barriers and facilitators to using t...

Background Building healthcare service and health professionals’ capacity and capability to rapidly translate research evidence into health practice is critical to the effectiveness and sustainability of healthcare systems. This review scoped the literature describing programmes to build knowledge translation capacity and capability in health profe...

Objective This systematic review aimed to assess the effect of life course body mass index (BMI) trajectories (childhood to adulthood) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and outcomes. Methods Prospective or retrospective cohort studies were identified that assessed the association of BMI trajectories with CVD risks and outcomes from data...

Background Food retailers can be reluctant to initiate healthy food retail activities in the face of a complex set of interrelated drivers that impact the retail environment. The Systems Thinking Approach for Retail Transformation (START) is a determinants framework created using qualitative systems modelling to guide healthy food retail interventi...

Introduction In Australia, the Victorian State Government has established a number of priority primary care centres (PPCCs) across the state to address the increasing demand for emergency departments (EDs). PPCCs are general practitioner-led, free-of-charge services that aim to provide care for conditions that require urgent attention but do not re...

Obesity and diet‐related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have a profound impact on individuals, households, health care systems, and economies in low‐ and middle‐ income countries (LMICs), with the Western Pacific Region experiencing some of the highest impacts. Governments have committed to improving population diets; however, implementation chall...

Background In response to increasing overweight and obesity, the Philippine government introduced a tax on sweetened beverages (SBs) in 2018. Evidence suggests that the beverage industry influenced the final tax design, making it more favourable for industry than the initially proposed bill. This study aimed to compare the relative health and econo...

Background World-wide, health service providers are moving towards innovative models of clinical home-based care services as a key strategy to improve equity of access and quality of care. To optimise existing and new clinical home-based care programs, evidence informed approaches are needed that consider the complexity of the health care system ac...

Objective: Person-centred growth-oriented language and care are considered vital for achieving favourable outcomes in mental health care. Personal testimonies detailed in the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System (RCVMHS) illustrate the need for a more compassionate and hope filled system, and demonstrate the op...

Background With their close connection to community and increasing preventive health remit, local governments are well positioned to implement policies and programs to address health inequities. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence of equity-focused policy action in this sector. We aimed to understand how local government representatives appro...

Abstract Background Hospital clinical staff have reported poor psychosocial wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about community health service staff who undertake various roles including education, advocacy and clinical services, and work with a range of clients. Few studies have collected longitudinal data. The aim of this stud...

Background Evidence is mounting that the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food and nutrition policies in ways that support market growth and protect against regulatory threats, often at the expense of public health. However, few studies have explored how this occurs in lower - middle income countries. We aimed to explore if and ho...

BACKGROUND Digital health literacy has emerged as a critical skillset to navigate the digital age. OBJECTIVE This review sought to broadly summarise the literature on associations between digital health literacy and: (a) socio-demographic characteristics, (b) health resource use, and (c) health outcomes in the general population, patient groups, o...

Background Digital health literacy has emerged as a critical skill set to navigate the digital age. Objective This review sought to broadly summarize the literature on associations between digital health literacy and (1) sociodemographic characteristics, (2) health resource use, and (3) health outcomes in the general population, patient groups, or...

Unlabelled: There has been increasing adoption and implementation of virtual healthcare in recent years, especially with COVID-19 impacting the world. As a result, virtual care initiatives may not undergo stringent quality control processes to ensure that they are appropriate to their context and meet sector needs. The two objectives of this study...

Background Adoption of health-enabling food retail interventions in food retail will require effective implementation strategies. To inform this, we applied an implementation framework to a novel real-world food retail intervention, the Healthy Stores 2020 strategy, to identify factors salient to intervention implementation from the perspective of...

Background: Little is known about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on community health service staff. The aim of this study was to assess the immediate and longer-term psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 on community health service staff in Australia. Methods: A prospective cohort design with an anonymous cross-section...

Healthy food outlet accreditation schemes represent an avenue for incentivizing food retailers to promote healthy eating patterns by improving the healthiness of food environments. This systematic review aimed to (i) assess the impact of food outlet-level accreditation schemes on outlet practices and customer purchases and (ii) identify barriers an...

School nutrition policies that aim to address unhealthy diets have been introduced in many countries. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the international literature to determine the impact (overall and by socioeconomic position [SEP]) of primary school nutrition policies on the availability of foods and beverages in schools. Seven database...

We aimed to explore experiences of government-led actions on the social determinants of food insecurity during Australia's COVID-19 pandemic response (which included novel, yet temporary, social protection measures to support Australians facing hardship during state-wide lockdowns). During November-December 2020, we conducted in-depth interviews wi...

Introduction Systems science methodologies have been used in attempts to address the complex and dynamic causes of childhood obesity with varied results. This paper presents a protocol for the Reflexive Evidence and Systems interventions to Prevention Obesity and Non-communicable Disease (RESPOND) trial. RESPOND represents a significant advance on...

Background Diabetes is a major public health issue. Because lifetime risk, life expectancy, and years of life lost are meaningful metrics for clinical decision making, we aimed to estimate these measures for type 2 diabetes in the high-income setting. Methods For this multinational, population-based study, we sourced data from 24 databases for 23...

Background Evidence of the effects of front-of-pack added sugar labelling remains limited, especially for foods other than sugary drinks. More information is needed about which labels are likely to be most effective in reducing intended purchases of products with higher added sugar content in realistic contexts to inform policymakers’ decisions. O...

Objective: Local governments (LGs) often own or manage sport and recreation facilities and can promote health in these settings by implementing healthy food policies. The primary aim of this study was to assess the policies, attitudes and practices of Australian LGs relating to obesity prevention and the provision of healthy food in this setting....

Background Few studies have explored behavioural and financial impacts of retail initiatives after 2 years to address the unhealthy food environments common in local government sporting settings. Aims To evaluate the impact of a 2-year local government capacity building intervention in sporting facility food outlets on (1) the healthiness of refri...

School-based employee interventions can benefit the health of staff and have the potential to influence the health of school students through role-modelling. However, interventions within schools typically focus on students, with very few studies addressing obesity and related health behaviours among school staff. A systematic review of the peer-re...

BACKGROUND In March 2020, the Australian Government expanded general practitioner (GP) telehealth services in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study sought to assess utilisation patterns of GP telehealth services in response to changing circumstances (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with or without lockdow...

Background: In March 2020, the Australian Government expanded general practitioner (GP) telehealth services in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Objective: This study sought to assess utilisation patterns of GP telehealth services in response to changing circumstances (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with or without loc...

Introduction: Poor diet is a leading preventable risk for the global burden of non-communicable disease. Robust measurement is needed to determine the effect of COVID-19 on dietary intakes and consumer purchasing, given the widespread changes to consumer food environments and economic precarity. The research objectives are as follows: (1) describe...

A pregnant woman needs adequate knowledge, motivation, and skills to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information to make decisions related to the health of herself and her unborn baby. These skills are defined as health literacy: an important factor in relation to the woman’s ability to engage and navigate antenatal care services. Ev...

Background There has been a rapid shift toward the adoption of virtual health care services in Australia. It is unknown how widely virtual care has been implemented or evaluated for the care of older adults in Australia. Objective We aimed to review the literature evaluating virtual care initiatives for older adults across a wide range of health c...

BACKGROUND There has been a rapid shift towards adoption of virtual healthcare services in Australia. It is unknown how widely virtual care has been implemented or evaluated for the care of older adults in Australia. OBJECTIVE To review literature evaluating virtual care initiatives for older adults across a wide range of health conditions and mod...

Diet is a major modifiable risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. However, studies are inconsistent on the associations between diet quality and education, income and food access. A new study brings together novel big data sources and highlights the need for strong action on the social determinants of health in order to improve population diets.

The aim of this systematic review of reviews was to synthesise the evidence on factors influencing the implementation, sustainability and scalability of food retail interventions to improve the healthiness of food purchased by consumers. A search strategy to identify reviews published up until June 2020 was applied to four databases. The Risk of Bi...

The aim of this study was to assess changes in mental health and wellbeing measures across a 50-day physical activity workplace program. The secondary aims assessed the relationship between demographic and pre-program physical activity self-reported variables, mental health, wellbeing and program engagement measures. The study utilized a naturalist...

Background The East Asia region is facing an increasing burden of overweight, obesity and related noncommunicable diseases, resulting from an ongoing nutrition transition. This study aimed to document the growing burden of overweight and obesity, and the accompanying dietary shifts, in the East Asia region and describe the policy responses to this....

Implementation of effective cross-sectoral nutrition policies remains a challenge worldwide. By reviewing reports from World Health Organization meetings and consultations - convened for policy-makers representing Member States of the Western Pacific Region - we provide an insight into how national policy-makers and external actors can support diff...

Purpose of Review This paper aimed to summarise existing literature on strategies to improve the healthiness of retail food environments in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, and propose a prioritised research agenda on this topic. Recent Findings Little research on retail food environments has been conducted in the EAP region. Several approac...

Background Chronic diseases contribute to a significant proportion (71%) of all deaths each year worldwide. Governments and other stakeholders worldwide have taken various actions to tackle the key risk factors contributing to the prevalence and impact of chronic diseases. Private health insurers (PHI) are one key stakeholders, particularly in Aust...

Overweight and obesity is a rapidly increasing global problem, impacting population health and healthcare systems. The World Health Organization prioritized the need to tackle obesity in its 2012 Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020 followed by its establishment of a Commission on Ending Childhood...

The obesity epidemic is a significant public policy issue facing the international community, resulting in substantial costs to individuals and society. Various policies have been suggested to reduce and prevent obesity, including those informed by standard economics (a key feature of which is the assumption that individuals are rational) and behav...

Objective To compare the cost and affordability of two fortnightly diets (representing the national guidelines and current consumption) across areas containing Australia’s major supermarkets. Design The Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing protocol was used. Setting Price data were collected online and via phone calls i...

We thank John Torous and Sarah Lagan for their response to our article,¹ especially their update on recent additions to the literature. We approached this scoping review as a piece of synthesized evidence and knowledge which aimed to provide a description of the currently available evidence,² with the particular aim of analyzing “…the different ass...

Background: In Australia, childhood obesity follows a socioeconomic gradient whereby children with lower socioeconomic position are disproportionately burdened. To reduce these inequalities in childhood obesity requires a multi-component policy-driven response. Action to address health issues is underpinned by the ways in which they are represente...

Objective To assess the feasibility of implementation, and customer perspectives of, a sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) reduction initiative across YMCA Victoria aquatic and recreation centres. Design Two data sources were used to assess implementation and customer acceptability. Photo audits were used to assess the type of drinks available for purc...

Background The World Health Organization recognizes universities as an important health-promotion setting, including in healthy food provision. Previous research shows that healthy food retail interventions also need to consider commercial sustainability, including financial outcomes, and should take a holistic approach to consumer experience. Obj...

CHAPTER 1: HOW AUSTRALIA IMPROVED HEALTH EQUITY THROUGH ACTION ON THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: Do not think that the social determinants of health equity are old hat. In reality, Australia is very far away from addressing the societal level drivers of health inequity. There is little progressive policy that touches on the conditions of daily...

Objective The study sought to review the different assessment items that have been used within existing health app evaluation frameworks aimed at individual, clinician, or organizational users, and to analyze the scoring and evaluation methods used in these frameworks. Materials and Methods We searched multiple bibliographic databases and conducte...

Background Emerging evidence demonstrates that obesity is associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Excessive alcohol consumption and “comfort eating” as coping mechanisms during times of high stress have been shown to further exacerbate mental and physical ill-health. Global examples suggest that unhealthy food and alcohol...

Background Food retailers in community settings are gatekeepers to the crucial food systems changes needed to improve population nutrition. Evidence-based models of change are needed to enable shifts in these complex retail environments. Systems thinking offers unique insights by capturing potential unintended consequences and multiple pathways to...

Issue addressed: Governments across the world use guidelines and policy to support improving the quality and nutrition in school canteens, yet little is known about what makes for a success in supporting school canteens. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing implementation of healthy school canteen policy. Methods: A qualitativ...

Objective: Equity-oriented policy actions are a key public health principle. In this study, how equity and socioeconomic inequalities are represented in policy problematizations of population nutrition were examined. Data sources: We retrieved a purposive sample of government nutrition-policy documents (n = 18) from high-income nations. Data sy...

Context: Globally, the use of labels or signage targeting SSBs remains in its infancy and there is limited evidence available regarding its ability to decrease purchase and consumption of SSBs. Objective: This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence on the effect of sugar- or health-related sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) warning label...

BACKGROUND Emerging evidence demonstrates that obesity is associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Excessive alcohol consumption and “comfort eating” as coping mechanisms during times of high stress have been shown to further exacerbate mental and physical ill-health. Global examples suggest that unhealthy food and alcohol...

Children's exposure to advertising of unhealthy food and nonalcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fats, salt and/or sugar is extensive and increases children's preferences for, and intake of, targeted products. This systematic review examines the differential potential exposure and impact of unhealthy food advertising to children according...

Background: The effectiveness of healthy food promotion on food and beverage sales in real-world food retail settings has been shown in randomised trials. The effectiveness of restrictions on the promotion of unhealthy food is, however, less clear. We aimed to assess the effect of restricted unhealthy food promotion, specifically those items contr...

Objective School-based prevention interventions informed by the World Health Organization Health Promoting School (HPS) framework aim to improve the health and wellbeing of school-aged children, yet few studies describe factors influencing the successful implementation of this framework in secondary schools. This study sought to explore why and how...

Objectives: To investigate (i) changes in stakeholder commitment and (ii) perceptions of the purpose, challenges and benefits of healthy food and beverage provision in community sports settings during the stepwise implementation of a healthy beverage policy. Design: Convergent, parallel, mixed-methods design complemented (i) repeat semi-structur...

Objective: Local governments have integral roles in contributing to public health. One recent focus has been on how local governments can impact community nutrition by engaging food service outlets to improve their food offer. The Healthier Catering Commitment (HCC) is an initiative where London local governments support takeaways and restaurants...

Background: Community-based interventions have shown promise in addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Such efforts rely on the knowledge of key community members and their engagement with the drivers of obesity in their community. This paper presents the protocol for the measurement and evaluation of knowledge and engagement among community l...

Background How food is promoted in food retail settings impacts population diet. Foods high in sugar, fat and/or salt are promoted by retailers to attract impulse purchases. To combat the high burden of chronic disease and associated conditions confronting society we examined the impact of restricted retail merchandising (promotion and visibility)...

This study aimed to pilot the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of three co-developed healthy food and beverage pricing interventions in a community retail setting. Aquatic and recreation centres in Victoria, Australia were recruited to co-develop and pilot pricing interventions within their onsite cafés, for 15 weeks from January 2019....

Objective To quantify sales trends for key energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods and beverages over 5 years in Australia. Design The Euromonitor Global Market Information Database and linear regression models were used to estimate average annual change in sales per capita of thirteen EDNP food categories and two EDNP beverage categories (define...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002326.].

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends undertaking 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, but most people do not. Workplaces present opportunities to influence behaviour and encourage physical activity, as well as other aspects of a healthy lifestyle. A pedometer is an inexpensive device that encourages p...

Objective To determine the reliability of streamlined data-gathering techniques for examining the price and affordability of a healthy (recommended) and unhealthy (current) diet. We additionally estimated the price and affordability of diets across socio-economic areas and quantified the influence of different pricing scenarios. Design Following t...

The aim of the ACE-Obesity Policy study was to assess the economic credentials of a suite of obesity prevention policies across multiple sectors and areas of governance for the Australian setting. The study aimed to place the cost-effectiveness results within a broad decision-making context by providing an assessment of the key considerations for p...

Restricting price promotions on unhealthy foods and beverages has been identified by governments as a promising approach for improving population diets. Using a limited societal perspective, this study assessed the potential cost-effectiveness of mandatory restrictions on price promotions for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Australia. Australia...

Objective: Sporting facilities owned or managed by local governments (LGs) can promote health by selling healthy food and drinks. This study assessed the policies, attitudes and practices of LGs in Victoria, Australia, relating to obesity prevention and the provision of healthy food in their sporting facilities. Methods: An online survey was e‐mail...

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common and debilitating chronic joint conditions in Australia. A National Osteoarthritis Strategy (the Strategy) was developed to outline a national plan to achieve optimal health outcomes for people at risk of, or with, OA. Objective: This article focuses on the theme of prevention of OA within...