Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition
Our innovative research helps to create health-promoting environments for all
Catalysing improvements in population health
The Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) is a world-class research group based in the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation and a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention.
Our research themes
Our research team works collaboratively across 12 research themes, actively seeking to push the science of preventive nutrition and health through population-level research, advocacy and capacity-building across all levels of society in Australia and internationally. Here are just a few of the research areas we explore.
Obesity prevention
Our research in obesity prevention aims to improve the policy response to obesity and unhealthy diets, and to understand how the development and implementation of these policies can be enhanced. Our research focuses on obesity prevention, policy development processes, and mechanisms for increasing the accountability of governments and food companies.
Food environments
Food environments are dominated by unhealthy foods that are readily available and heavily promoted. These environments are a major driver of unhealthy population diets and high levels of obesity that are among the biggest contributors to poor health. Our research focuses on policies and practices that can lead to healthier food environments.
Health economics
In addition to the population health impact of unhealthy diets and obesity, there is also a substantial economic burden that is borne by all members of society, including individuals, businesses and governments. There are many policies, programs and interventions that can be implemented to address unhealthy diets and obesity. Health economics can help inform decision makers of the health and economic impacts of their decisions.
Commercial determinants of health
Our research explores the ways that commercial and economic systems influence health and equity. It aims to identify potential mechanisms for limiting the negative impacts of corporations on society and changing business and economic systems so that they better promote health.
Help us to enable healthier environments
We collaborate with a wide range of partners at international, national, regional and local levels. We pride ourselves on establishing and sustaining these relationships so our research is responsive to identified community need and can be translated and implemented to inform policy and health service provision and resource allocation.
Through the innovative preventive health research that's carried out at the Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition, we are helping to create environments that empower populations to be healthy.
Co-director, Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition
Our researchers
Our team of researchers push the science of obesity prevention in population-level research, capacity building and evidence-based public health advocacy across all levels of society in Australia and internationally.
Professor Gary Sacks conducts research focused on the commercial and economic determinants of health. He has a broad range of international public health research and policy experience, including:
- policies for improving population diets
- monitoring and evaluation of food environments
- corporate political activity
- institutional investment for health.
Associate Professor Serene Yoong leads a program of research focused on understanding how to meaningfully implement, scale up and sustain child health and wellbeing programs. Her research interests include:
- implementation science and scale up
- child health and wellbeing
- systems mapping and modelling
- settings and place-based research
- digital health interventions.
Featured projects
GLOBE is one of the largest research groups in Australia focused on preventive health at the population level. Here are 2 of our key projects.
Protecting children and communities from harmful marketing
SCANNER is a flexible public health surveillance platform that monitors digital marketing and young people’s exposure to online advertising for products including unhealthy food, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and vaping. Combining participant data collection, AI-powered analytics and compliance monitoring, it supports research, policy and regulation. (359 characters)
Corporate determinants of health
We have a large program of research focused on monitoring the way that corporations impact health and examining ways to counter harmful corporate influences. As one example, the SCANNER project is an artificial intelligence approach to monitoring harmful marketing to children and youth.
Learn how corporations contribute to social and economic inequalities
Contact us
Stay in touch with us to hear about the latest alumni opportunities, research news and much more. Have a question? Get in touch with the team.
