Critical components of brief Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) advice interventions in routine care as part of the Growth Assessment in Children and Weight Assessment in Adults Guideline

The Centre for Population Health, NSW Ministry of Health, is updating the 2017 Growth and Weight Assessment Guidelines for children and adults. The focus is on integrating the ‘Ask, Advice, Help’ (AAH) model into routine clinical care to identify patients above a healthy weight and provide referral pathways to intensive programs. The updated guidelines aim to use culturally sensitive language to avoid weight stigma. This rapid review aimed to evaluate brief Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) interventions that can be implemented by clinicians in hospital or community-based care settings. The findings will inform updates to the guidelines, ensuring alignment with best practices for obesity management and health promotion. The review looked at 10 studies, with one focused on children and nine on adults. For children, a quick talk during a dental visit helped reduce sugary drink consumption, and some kids who were overweight got referred to healthy lifestyle programs. For adults, short advice sessions (from 30 seconds to 10 minutes) led to weight loss and better health habits. For example, a 10-minute session helped people lose about 1kg over three months. The studies followed the ‘Ask, Advice, Help’ model, which includes measuring weight, giving advice, and referring to more intensive programs. However, there were only a few studies, and they didn’t cover all weight groups. This review highlights the potential of brief interventions to contribute to obesity prevention and health promotion, aligning with NSW Health’s strategic goals for population health.