Population-based evaluation of the‘LiveLighter’ healthy weight and lifestyle mass media campaign

Abstract

The Western Australian (WA) ‘LiveLighter’ (LL) mass media campaign ran during June–August and September–October 2012. The principal campaign ad graphically depicts visceral fat of an overweight individual (‘why’ change message), whereas supporting ads demonstrate simple changes to increase activity and eat healthier (‘how’ to change message). Cross-sectional surveys among population samples aged 25–49 were undertaken pre-campaign (N = 2012) and following the two media waves (N = 2005 and N = 2009) in the intervention (WA) and comparison state (Victoria) to estimate the population impact of LL. Campaign awareness was 54% after the first media wave and overweight adults were more likely to recall LL and perceive it as personally relevant. Recall was also higher among parents, but equal between socio-economic groups. The ‘why’ message about health-harms of overweight rated higher than ‘how’ messages about lifestyle change, on perceived message effectiveness which is predictive of health-related intention and behaviour change. State-by-time interactions showed population-level increases in self-referent thoughts about the health-harms of overweight (P < 0.05) and physical activity intentions (P < 0.05). Endorsement of stereotypes of overweight individuals did not increase after LL aired. LL was associated with some population-level improvements in proximal and intermediate markers of campaign impact. However, sustained campaign activity will be needed to impact behaviour.

Association of the LiveLighter mass media campaign with consumption of sugar‐sweetened beverages: Cohort study

“…It is theorised that these observed changes in knowledge and behaviour with regard to sugary drink consumption are driven by the campaign simultaneously motivating , reinforcing and enabling adults to achieve health behaviour change . As reported previously, it is posited that individuals who perceive themselves to be susceptible will act to reduce their sugary drink consumption to the extent they are: motivated – determined by the personal perceived threat of not doing so (eg, disease, weight gain) and the extent to which the benefits of doing so are judged to outweigh the costs; enabled – determined by the belief one has the skills and ability necessary to reduce their sugary drink consumption; and reinforced – characterised by the extent to which results of reducing consumption are observable (eg, improved health, weight loss)…”

“…To check for potential unintended campaign effects, respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with five weight‐based stereotypes. Based on factor analysis, a composite scale combined ratings of “agreed” for two or more stereotypes . Respondents who reported they drank SSBs one or more times in the last week were classified as “weekly SSB consumers” and those who drank SSBs four or more times in the last week were classified as “frequent SSB consumers.”…”

“…In Australia, the first application of mass media designed to reduce SSB consumption was the Western Australian government‐funded LiveLighter “Sugary Drinks” campaign, which targeted adults and was based on behavioural theory and considerable formative research . The campaign evaluation aimed primarily to estimate the population impact of the campaign on sugary drink consumption.…”

Trends in body mass index and obesity prevalence in Western Australian adults, 2002 to 2015

“…It may be that programs targeting overweight and obesity, healthy eating and physical activity that have been introduced in recent decades are now beginning to bear some effect. For example, research has shown the LiveLighter campaign is associated with population‐level changes in physical activity intentions and in thoughts pertaining to the harmful effects of being overweight . There are many other high‐quality health promotion programs running in WA, and it is tempting to think that these might be starting to have an impact.…”

Effective strategies to prevent obesity

“…Promising results from a public education campaign with a mass media component have been found in Australia with LiveLighter. The first phase of the campaign led to population‐level increases in knowledge of health harms related to weight gain . The second phase focused on consumption of sugary beverages and associated risk of weight.…”