Colin Bell

Biographic Data

ID3632485
NAMEColin Bell
GIVEN NAMESColin
FAMILY NAMEBell
SIGNATUREBELL C
AFFILIATIONSDeakin University
ORCID0000-0003-2731-9858
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS95
TOTAL CITATIONS404
AUTHOR COUNT95
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1968
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX9

  • A case study assessing implementation of the Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices Policy Directive in a rural hospital café

    Open AccessCarolina Venegas Hargous, Jillian Whelan et al.ARTICLECritical Public Health2026

    Introduction In 2021, the Victorian Government in Australia introduced the Healthy Choices policy directive to improve availability of healthier food and drink options in health services.Theory We applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to assess implementation of Healthy Choices in a rural hospital Café (June 2021 – October 2023) and identify enablers and limiters of compliance.Methods We conducted a case study and assesse…

  • Methods to evaluate community food hubs in high-income countries

    Open AccessKate Wingrove, Karen J Campbell et al.ARTICLEFood Security2026

    Community food hubs have potential to strengthen local food systems and promote food security, but evaluation methods have not been systematically reviewed. A scoping review was conducted to analyse methods used to evaluate community food hubs in high-income countries. Studies and reports published in English between January 2013 and December 2023 were sought in four databases. Food hubs with a physical market selling healthy local food, that had…

  • Nutrient Composition and Health Information on the Labels of Commercially Produced Complementary Foods in Nepal

    Open AccessNisha Sharma, Prabhat Lamichhane et al.ARTICLEMaternal and Child Nutrition2026

    Commercially produced complementary foods (CPCFs) - commercially produced food or beverage products that are specifically marketed as suitable for feeding infant and young children (IYC) from 6-36 months of age - are increasingly available in Southeast Asia and purchased by caregivers. However, we know little about the nutrient composition of these foods or health-related information on the packaging of the CPCFs available in Nepal. This study as…

  • Enhancing healthy eating and active play in the Australian early childhood education and care system

    Open AccessKonsita Kuswara, Rachel Laws et al.ARTICLEHealth Promotion International2025

    Early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings are crucial for promoting healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA) among young children. However, the implementation of health promotion strategies in these settings is often inconsistent and suboptimal. This study applied a systems thinking approach to identify potential leverage points for improving HE and PA promotion in Australian ECEC settings. The study involved qualitative systems ma…

  • Physical and biophysical markers of assessment in medical training

    Danielle T Miller, Sarah Michael et al.ARTICLEMedical Teacher2025

    Purpose Assessment in medical education has changed over time to measure the evolving skills required of current medical practice. Physical and biophysical markers of assessment attempt to use technology to gain insight into medical trainees’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The authors conducted a scoping review to map the literature on the use of physical and biophysical markers of assessment in medical training.Materials and methods The autho…

  • Energy, nutrient and overall healthiness of processed packaged foods in Fiji, a comparison between 2018 and 2020

    Open AccessAliyah Palu, Joseph Alvin Santos et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2024

    In Fiji, packaged foods are becoming increasingly available. However, it is unknown if nutrition composition of these foods has changed. This study aims to assess changes in energy, nutrient content and healthiness of packaged foods by comparing data from five major supermarkets in Fiji in 2018 and 2020. Foods were categorised into 14 groups; nutrient composition information was extracted and healthiness assessed using Health Star Rating (HSR). D…

  • Social Researching

    Colin Bell, Helen RobertsBOOKSocial Researching2023

  • Understanding the corporate political activity of the ultra - processed food industry in East Asia

    Open AccessOliver Huse, Erica Reeve et al.ARTICLEGlobalization and Health2023

    BACKGROUND: Evidence is mounting that the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food and nutrition policies in ways that support market growth and protect against regulatory threats, often at the expense of public health. However, few studies have explored how this occurs in lower - middle income countries. We aimed to explore if and how the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food- and nutrition - related policy proce…

  • Food insecurity, Covid-19 and diets in Fiji – a cross-sectional survey of over 500 adults

    Open AccessJacqui Webster, Anasaini Moala et al.ARTICLEGlobalization and Health2023

    INTRODUCTION: Food insecurity is associated with inadequate nutrition and increased rates of chronic disease. The primary aim of this study was to assess self-reported food insecurity and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on food security, in two regional districts of Central Fiji, as part of a broader program of work on strengthening and monitoring food policy interventions. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between food insecurit…

  • How healthy and affordable are foods and beverages sold in school canteens? A cross-sectional study comparing menus from Victorian primary schools

    Open AccessAmy Hill, Miranda R Blake et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2023

    Objective: Government policy guidance in Victoria, Australia, encourages schools to provide affordable, healthy foods in canteens. This study analysed the healthiness and price of items available in canteens in Victorian primary schools and associations with school characteristics. Design: Dietitians classified menu items (main, snack and beverage) using the red, amber and green traffic light system defined in the Victorian government’s School Ca…

  • Understanding weight status and dietary intakes among Australian school children by remoteness

    Open AccessJane Jacobs, Claudia Strugnell et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2023

    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 se…

  • System approaches to childhood obesity prevention

    Open AccessPenny Fraser, Jillian M Whelan et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2023

    Objective: Childhood obesity prevention is critical to reducing the health and economic burden currently experienced by the Australian economy. System science has emerged as an approach to manage the complexity of childhood obesity and the ever-changing risk factors, resources and priorities of government and funders. Anecdotally, our experience suggests that inflexibility of traditional research methods and dense academic terminology created iss…

  • Strategies used by the soft drink industry to grow and sustain sales

    Open AccessOliver Huse, Erica Reeve et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    BACKGROUND: The market and non-market activities of the food and beverage industry contribute to unhealthy and unsustainable dietary patterns, increasingly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to describe how The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), as the world market leader in the sugar-sweetened beverage sector, operationalises their activities in LMICs in East Asia, among the world's most highly populated yet under-researched coun…

  • Strengthening implementation of diet-related non-communicable disease prevention strategies in Fiji

    Open AccessSarah Mounsey, Gade Waqa et al.ARTICLEGlobalization and Health2022

    BACKGROUND: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a comprehensive policy package for their prevention and control. However, implementing robust, best-practice policies remains a global challenge. In Fiji, despite political commitment to reducing the health and economic costs of NCDs, prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease remain the highest in th…

  • The tide of dietary risks for noncommunicable diseases in Pacific Islands

    Open AccessErica Reeve, Prabhat Lamichhane et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022

    While some Pacific countries experienced reductions in diet related NCD risk factors over time, most did not. Most Pacific adults (88%) do not consume enough fruit and vegetables, 82% live with overweight or obesity, 33% live with hypertension and 40% live with hypercholesterolaemia. Population-wide approaches to promote fruit and vegetable consumption and reduce sugar, salt and fat intake need strengthening

  • Community Studies, Community Power and Community Conflict

    Colin Bell, Fulano de Tal et al.BOOKStudies in Sociology2022

    This chapter explores the interrelation of community studies, community power, and community conflict. It begins by examining the classic community studies tradition, focusing on the significance of location and the interplay of integration and conflict within communities. The chapter then delves into the debate surrounding community power, contrasting elitist and pluralist perspectives. It analyzes how power dynamics shape local decision-making …

  • Community Studies

    Colin Bell, Howard NewbyBOOKCommunity Studies2021

    Originally published in 1971, this was the first text on community studies which analysed the major empirical work in this field in a comparative perspective. It is concerned both with the sociology of community and the sociology of community studies. It takes both the findings of individual studies and the research process itself as significant sociological data in their own right, and it asks continually: how do we know what we know about commu…

  • Barriers and facilitators to the introduction of import duties designed to prevent noncommunicable disease in Tonga

    Open AccessColin Bell, Catherine Latu et al.ARTICLEGlobalization and Health2021

    BACKGROUND: In Tonga, import duties were lowered on tinned fish and seafood in 2013 and raised on soft drinks, dripping and other animal fats. Additional import duties were applied to soft drinks and dripping and other fats in 2016 and duties were also applied to high fat meats, mutton flaps and turkey tails. The objective of this study was to describe barriers to and facilitators of these import duties from a policy-maker perspective. METHODS: A…

  • Identifying opportunities to strengthen school food environments in the Pacific

    Open AccessErica Reeve, Anne Marie Thow et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2021

    Sustained and effective implementation of healthy school food policies requires continued engagement from political and community leaders, beyond initial commitment. There is potential to capitalize on political will for diet-related NCD prevention by more clearly demonstrating the institutional and operational requirements for effective and sustained implementation. Strong incentives for compliance and effective enforcement mechanisms are also l…

  • OUP accepted manuscript

    Open AccessErica Reeve, Anne Marie Thow et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2021

    Fiscal tools are recommended as a part of a comprehensive approach to diet-related disease prevention, however, widespread adoption has been hampered by political and economic resistance. The aim of this study was to support an advocacy coalition in the Solomon Islands with evidence-based consideration of the development and implementation of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), sensitive to local contextual factors and constraints. In 2017…

  • Ultra‐processed foods and the nutrition transition

    Open AccessPhillip Baker, Priscila Machado et al.ARTICLEObesity Reviews2020

    Understanding the drivers and dynamics of global ultra‐processed food (UPF) consumption is essential, given the evidence linking these foods with adverse health outcomes. In this synthesis review, we take two steps. First, we quantify per capita volumes and trends in UPF sales, and ingredients (sweeteners, fats, sodium and cosmetic additives) supplied by these foods, in countries classified by income and region. Second, we review the literature o…

  • Fruit and vegetable import duty reduction in Fiji to prevent obesity and non-communicable diseases

    Open AccessColin Bell, Catherine Latu et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2020

    Objective: To describe the development of Fiji’s fruit and vegetable fiscal policies between 2010 and 2014 and explore the impact they have had on import volumes. Design: Qualitative case study and in-depth analysis of policy process. Policy impact was assessed using publicly available import volume data and prices of food products. Setting: Fiji. Participants: Senior government policy makers, non-communicable disease officers from the Ministry o…

  • A rural community moves closer to sustainable obesity prevention - an exploration of community readiness pre and post a community-based participatory intervention

    Open AccessJillian M Whelan, Karen J Campbell et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2019

    Community readiness to change interviews, pre- and post- intervention, provided essential information related to the appropriate targeting and pitch of the prevention strategies, as well as providing an overall evaluation of the positive movement in the community's readiness to implement change

  • Contribution of fat, sugar and salt to diets in the Pacific Islands

    Open AccessJoseph Alvin Santos, Briar L McKenzie et al.ARTICLEPublic Health Nutrition2019

    Objective Pacific Island countries are experiencing a high burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases; and consumption of fat, sugar and salt are important modifiable risk factors contributing to this. The present study systematically reviewed and summarized available literature on dietary intakes of fat, sugar and salt in the Pacific Islands. Design Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and GlobalHealth) were searched from 20…

  • The Sociology of Social Security

    Michael Adler, Jochen Clasen et al.

    Some possible futures for social security, Abraham Doron what is enough? - evidence to allow the definition of minimum benefit, Peter Townsend claiming the right to income support and the right to work - objectives of and prospects for social security reform in Australia, Bettina Cass lessons from the recession in Scandinavia 1975-1985, Staffan Markland salami tactics and the Australian welfare state, Peter Travers pull-down effects and interests…