COVID-19-related lockdowns and changes in overweight and obesity, movement behaviours, diet quality, and health-related quality of life among regional Australian primary school children: A repeat cross-sectional study.

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Australian state of Victoria (in particular, its capital, Melbourne) experienced some of the longest lockdowns in the world.

Objective: This repeated cross-sectional study examined changes between March to June 2019 (pre-pandemic) and April to August 2022 (6 to 11 months following pandemic-related lockdowns) in overweight and obesity prevalence, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, diet quality, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among primary school children in north-east Victoria, Australia.

Methods: Height and weight were measured for Grade 2, 4, and 6 students in 2019 (3889 children) and 2022 (1816 children).

Three-year behavioural, health-related quality of life, and body mass index outcomes from the RESPOND randomized trial.

Objectives: Evaluate RESPOND, a community-based systems intervention to prevent childhood obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCD).

Study Design: Cluster randomized trial of building community capacity to use systems science for child obesity and NCD prevention in 10 local government areas in northeast Victoria, Australia. Four-year stepped wedge trial, adapted due to COVID-19 restrictions METHODS: Cluster randomized trial of building community capacity to use systems science for child obesity and NCD prevention in 10 local government areas in northeast Victoria, Australia.

A protocol of a pilot randomised trial (Action-RESPOND) to support rural and regional communities with implementing community-based systems thinking obesity prevention initiatives.

Background: Over a quarter of children aged 2-17 years living in Australia are overweight or obese, with a higher prevalence reported in regional and remote communities. Systems thinking approaches that seek to support communities to generate and implement locally appropriate solutions targeting intertwined environmental, political, sociocultural, and individual determinants of obesity have the potential to ameliorate this. There have however been reported challenges with implementation of such initiatives, which may be strengthened by incorporating implementation science methods.

Minding our futures: Understanding climate-related mental wellbeing using systems science.

Introduction: Climate change impacts mental wellbeing through complex pathways and young people are among the most vulnerable to climate-related anxiety. Minding our Futures used methods from systems science to explore this issue and identify actions to promote mental wellbeing for young Australians (18-24 years).

Methods: This qualitative study used Group Model Building via three online facilitated workshops recruiting health, youth and climate practitioners and researchers engaged with young people around climate change and/or mental wellbeing (N = 14).

System mapping with adolescents: Using group model building to map the complexity of obesity.

Public health research and practice is increasingly employing systems thinking to help grapple with complex issues, from obesity to HIV treatment. At the same time, there is growing recognition that to address a given problem it is essential collaborate with those most at risk of or affected by it. Group model building (GMB), a process grounded in system dynamics, combines systems thinking and participatory methods to structure and address complex issues.

Understanding weight status and dietary intakes among Australian school children by remoteness: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To determine whether primary school children's weight status and dietary behaviours vary by remoteness as defined by the Australian Modified Monash Model (MMM).

Design: A cross-sectional study design was used to conduct secondary analysis of baseline data from primary school students participating in a community-based childhood obesity trial. Logistic mixed models estimated associations between remoteness, measured weight status and self-reported dietary intake.

Healthy weight, health behaviours and quality of life among Aboriginal children living in regional Victoria.

Objective: To report the prevalence of healthy weight and related behaviours among Victorian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and explore associations between these factors and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: Analysis of cross-sectional data from two cluster randomised controlled trials using logistic and linear mixed models. The sample included Aboriginal (n=303) and non-Aboriginal (n=3,026) children aged 8-13 years.

Generating change through collective impact and systems science for childhood obesity prevention: The GenR8 Change case study.

Background: Community-based interventions have shown promise in reducing childhood overweight and obesity. However, they have been critiqued for using linear logic models. Participatory community-based systems approaches are posited as addressing the complexity of non-linear relationships in a local context.

Participatory research with a rural Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation: lessons learned using the CONSIDER statement.

Context: In Australia, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) are geographically proximal to where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People reside and are valued for providing holistic and culturally safe primary health care. Partnering with ACCHOs in research is appropriate for redressing health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, which includes a high burden of chronic disease. Historically, some approaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research have been unethical.

Tracking implementation within a community-led whole of system approach to address childhood overweight and obesity in south west Sydney, Australia.

Background: Obesity is a chronic disease that contributes to additional comorbidities including diabetes, kidney disease and several cancers. Change4Campbelltown implemented a 'whole of system' approach to address childhood overweight and obesity. We present methods to track implementation and stakeholder engagement in Change4Campbelltown.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Rural Food Supply and Demand in Australia: Utilising Group Model Building to Identify Retailer and Customer Perspectives.

Prior to the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19, 70% of Australians' food purchases were from supermarkets. Rural communities experience challenges accessing healthy food, which drives health inequalities. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on food supply and purchasing behaviour in a rural supermarket.

Protocol for the measurement of changes in knowledge and engagement in the stepped wedge cluster randomised trial for childhood obesity prevention in Australia: (Reflexive Evidence and Systems interventions to Prevent Obesity and Non-communicable Disease (RESPOND)).

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 leaders within a whole-of-community systems intervention across 10 large intervention communities in Australia.

Composition of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour participation across the school-day, influence of gender and weight status: cross-sectional analyses among disadvantaged Victorian school children.

Background: The after-school period has been described as the 'critical window' for physical activity (PA) participation. However, little is known about the importance of this window compared with the before and during-school period among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, and influence of gender and weight status.

Methods: 39 out of 156 (RR=25%) invited primary schools across 26 local government areas in Victoria, Australia, consented to participate with 856 children (RR=36%) participating in the wider study.