Federal election 2022: Liberal candidate’s PhD thesis blames ‘Pacific men in obesity crisis’

Men are to blame for childhood obesity in developing nations because they spend less on “dietary quality and nutrition than female controlled income”, an aspiring federal MP says.

Men are to blame for childhood obesity in developing Pacific nations because they spend less on “dietary quality and nutrition” than women, an aspiring federal MP in South Australia says.

The solution to the health crisis is “empowering” women to have more control of household spending decisions, according to Anna Finizio, the Liberal candidate in Hindmarsh, in Adelaide’s west.

Dr Finizio, 36, a political staffer and lawyer, wrote the arguments in her Adelaide University doctorate submitted to the Centre for Global Food and Resources in February 2019.

Her 270-page PhD thesis explored theories around “diet quality and health outcomes” in Fiji’s rural and urban households.

Dr Anna Finizio - Liberal for Hindmarsh

Dr Finizio, who was a ministerial adviser to former health minister Stephen Wade and former police minister Vincent Tarzia, found in homes where the “female contributed to decision-making, the household was less likely to consume unhealthy foods”.

She wrote that changes in gender roles may occur because men “often take stronger control of farm production and income”.

“This can be problematic for household diet quality, as male-controlled income is often spent less on dietary quality and nutrition than female-controlled income,” she wrote.

“Women’s empowerment in household decision-making plays an important role in shaping nutrition outcomes.

“These findings have important policy implications.”

Latest World Health Organisation data from 2016 states more than 1.9 billion adults are overweight – at least 650 million of them obese.

Dr Finizio, a former Law Society policy adviser, said she was “very proud of my work in this field”.

“It shows my ability to examine important issues thoroughly and contribute to global understanding – skills that I believe will add to the depth of experience in the federal parliament,” she said.

“It added to a gap in literature about specific components of food systems, including agricultural production diversity and market access.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at SA Campaign event in Adelaide shakes hands with the Liberal candidate Anna Finizio. Picture: Jason Edwards

Her biography says she worked internationally on a project to improve the health and livelihoods of Pacific families.

She said she referenced research showing that by “improving female roles in agriculture and food consumption decision-making, the less likely a household was to eat unhealthy foods”.

She said the quoted references were from the Literature Review and not a conclusion but it was an important issue in Pacific Island countries and territories.

Labor frontbencher Mark Butler holds Hindmarsh with a 6.5 per cent margin.

Dr Finizio, who is expected to return as an adviser to Mr Wade, was among three Liberal candidates who were announ­ced two weeks into the federal campaign.

They also included Shawn Lock in Spence, in Adelaide’s outer-north, and Kathleen Bourne in Kingston, in the southern suburbs.

Originally published as Federal election 2022: Liberal candidate’s PhD thesis blames ‘Pacific men in obesity crisis’