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Garry Egger
AM
Born (1947-01-04) 4 January 1947 (age 77)
Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
EducationUniversity of Sydney
University of Western Australia
University of Newcastle
Occupation(s)Writer, educator
Known forFounder of Gutbusters

Garry Egger AM (born 4 January 1947) is an Australian academic and author, particularly recognized for his work in health promotion, preventive health and lifestyle medicine.[1] He has authored more than 35 books[2] — several that are used as textbooks at various universities[3][4][5][6] — and over 130 peer-reviewed articles collectively garnering over 3600 citations,[7] with significant contributions to areas such as weight management and chronic disease prevention. He is notably the founder of Gutbusters, a men's weight loss program.

Early life and education

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Egger was born in Cessnock and raised in a house on the sand dunes of Wamberal Beach on the NSW Central Coast.[1] He graduated from Gosford High School in 1964 and moved to Newcastle in 1966 to study psychology. In 1979, the Egger family home dramatically collapsed into the sea amid a media frenzy.[8][9][10] The collapse was attributed to coastal erosion, exacerbated by the council-approved construction of a nearby sea wall and apartment complex – a scenario that was later confirmed in court. However, the council was found not liable due to a lack of knowledge on coastal erosion at the time.[8][11] Egger holds a PhD in behavioural biology and epidemiology from University of Western Australia (1972), a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney (1979), and an honours degree in psychology from University of Newcastle (1969).[1]

Career

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Tobacco control and anti-tobacco advertising

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In the early stages of his career, Egger was instrumental in driving health promotion initiatives in tobacco control while working for the NSW Department of Health.[12] Notably, he was a key contributor to the initial 'Quit. For Life' campaign in the late 1970s as part of the North Coast Healthy Lifestyle Program in New South Wales, which paved the way for widespread public education initiatives across Australia in the early 1980s.[13][14] He also collaborated with advertising director John Bevins[15] to produce impactful anti-tobacco advertising campaigns, one of the most notable being the 1985 “sponge-as-a-lung ad”.[16]

The Fitness Leader Program

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In 1981, Egger partnered with Nigel Champion to establish the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) Fitness Leader Program of courses.[17][18] The courses were a significant part of the initial steps towards formalising the training and accreditation processes for fitness professionals in Australia.[19] The program helped to ensure that those entering the fitness industry were qualified and equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective fitness services.[19]

Gutbusters and weight management

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In 1992, Egger founded Gutbusters, a men's weight loss program.[1][20][21] The concept of the program was born and tested by Egger in partnership with the NSW Health Department two years earlier within BHP, Australia's largest steel company.[22] Charged with understanding male health behaviour, Egger tailored a program addressing abdominal obesity, a conspicuous health risk. The program's success — at least in terms of profile rather than profitability — led to its acquisition by Weight Watchers Australia. However, over the course of the next eight years, the revenue from the program only accounted for 2-3% of what was being generated from Weight Watchers’ programs for women, leading to its discontinuation.[22] In 1999, Egger along with co-authors Boyd Swinburn and Razza Fezeela published "Dissecting Obesogenic Environments: The Development and Application of a Framework for Identifying and Prioritizing Environmental Interventions for Obesity".[23] In this seminal paper, Egger and his co-authors introduced a framework for evaluating and prioritizing environmental interventions in addressing obesity. The framework advocated for a systemic approach, recognizing the complex interplay of environmental factors contributing to the obesity epidemic. As of October 2023, the paper had garnered more than 1,500 citations[23][24] placing it just outside to the top 100 most cited peer-reviewed publications in obesity research.[25]

Lifestyle medicine and shared medical appointments

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Egger has been instrumental in advancing the field of Lifestyle Medicine, both in Australia and globally, and has published several books on the topic.[26] He was the lead among the founding members of the Australian Lifestyle Medicine Association (ALMA) in 2008 and has written and delivered many training programs in Lifestyle Medicine for physicians and allied health professionals across Australia and the Pacific.[27] This included co-authoring the world’s first Master of Lifestyle Medicine degree at Southern Cross University in 2008.[28] Also in 2008, Egger was appointed Professor of Lifestyle Medicine and Applied Health Promotion at Southern Cross University, where he currently holds an adjunct Professorship.[1][29]

Since 2014, Egger has been a prominent advocate for shared medical appointments (SMAs), promoting them as an innovative approach to healthcare management where individuals with similar concerns receive medical care and education simultaneously through group consultations.[30][31][32] Recognizing the limited success of conventional 1:1 models of medical consultation and group education, Egger and academic colleague John Stevens have undertaken pioneering research in the integration of SMAs in primary health care practice in Australia as an effective alternative for addressing chronic diseases and improving health outcomes.[30][31][32]

Through his work in primary care centres, Egger expanded the concept of SMAs into a more structured form known as programmed SMAs (pSMAs).[33][34] These pSMAs involve a sequence of SMAs with a semi-structured format, providing targeted educational input on specific health topics. With a strong emphasis on lifestyle medicine, Egger has championed the use of pSMAs as a platform for a range of interventions in the management of chronic diseases and conditions. One notable application of pSMAs that Egger has spearheaded is in the use of pSMAs for weight management, type 2 diabetes prevention, chronic pain self-management and first nations people’s health in primary healthcare (PHC) centres with collaboration from general practitioners (GPs).[34]

Awards and recognition

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In 2012, Egger was awarded the distinction of Member in the Order of Australia (AM) for his "service to medical education as an administrator and teacher, particularly in the area of health promotion and research, as an author, and for his contributions to professional organisations."[35] Egger was awarded the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine’s inaugural Pioneers of Lifestyle Medicine Award in 2020, the society’s highest honor.[36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Dapin, Mark (31 May 2013). "Fighting fat one waist at a time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ Egger, Garry. "Books by Garry Egger". University of Sydney Library. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  3. ^ "The University of New South Wales - Exercise Physiology Program, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, HESC1511, Exercise Programs and Behaviour, required textbooks" (PDF). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. ^ "James Cook University TM5569 Health Promotion Strategies and Methods - Semester 2, required textbook | Booktopia". www.booktopia.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Griffith University 2209MED Priorities and Interventions in Public Health Books, required textbook | Booktopia". www.booktopia.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ "University of Tasmania. PSY114 Stress, PSY114 Stress, Self-Care and Mindfulness - Semester 2, required textbook | Booktopia". www.booktopia.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Scopus preview - Egger, Garry J. - Author details - Scopus". www.scopus.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b Nolan, Mandy (18 June 2015). "The man whose house fell into the sea". The Echo. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  9. ^ Schipp, Debbie (8 June 2016). "Is the Australian dream of a beachfront home really worth it?". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  10. ^ Fellner, Carrie (18 July 2020). "'Those homes should never have been built': The 40-year saga behind Wamberal beach erosion". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  11. ^ Buttner, John; Ruthning, Feez (1990). "Negligence - Local Authority - Duty of Care - Egger v Gosford Shire Council, unreported decision of New South Wales Court of Appeal, 10 March, 1989". Australian Construction Law Newsletter.
  12. ^ "Witness to the History of Australian Medicine, Tobacco Control: Australia's Role. Garry Egger". eScholarship Research Centre, The University of Melbourne 2005-16. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  13. ^ Bayly, M. "Public education campaigns to discourage: the Australian experience. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2021". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  14. ^ Egger, G; Fitzgerald, W; Frape, G; Monaem, A; Rubinstein, P; Tyler, C; McKay, B (15 October 1983). "Results of large scale media antismoking campaign in Australia: North Coast "Quit for Life" programme". BMJ. 287 (6399): 1125–1128. doi:10.1136/bmj.287.6399.1125. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 1549317. PMID 6414597.
  15. ^ "Witness to the History of Australian Medicine, Tobacco Control: Australia's Role. John Bevins". eScholarship Research Centre, The University of Melbourne 2005-16. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  16. ^ Bluett, Ros (3 December 2017). "Ad agencies helped make smoking cool, until they didn't". ABC News. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  17. ^ "The Fitness Leader Handbook, University of Sydney Library". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Australian Fitness Network". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  19. ^ a b Egger, Garry. "Standards and guidelines for the planning and conduct of fitness programs". University of Sydney Library. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Gary Egger encourages men to focus on their health". Conversations with Richard Fidler. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  21. ^ Egger, Garry; Rosemary, Rosemary (1998). The gutbuster : waist loss guide : for men with the gut to give it a go!. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864488832. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  22. ^ a b Egger, Garry (19 April 2018), "The Australian experience", Hazardous Waist, CRC Press, pp. 205–212, doi:10.1201/9781315378022-23, ISBN 978-1-315-37802-2, retrieved 22 June 2023
  23. ^ a b Swinburn, Boyd; Egger, Garry; Raza, Fezeela (1 December 1999). "Dissecting Obesogenic Environments: The Development and Application of a Framework for Identifying and Prioritizing Environmental Interventions for Obesity". Preventive Medicine. 29 (6): 563–570. doi:10.1006/pmed.1999.0585. ISSN 0091-7435. PMID 10600438.
  24. ^ "Scopus citation count". id.elsevier.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  25. ^ Ahmad, Tauseef (22 December 2021), "Top 100 Most Cited Studies in Obesity Research: A Bibliometric Analysis", Role of Obesity in Human Health and Disease, IntechOpen, ISBN 978-1-83968-980-2, retrieved 8 October 2023
  26. ^ Egger, Garry. "Lifestyle medicine books by Garry Egger". University of Sydney Library. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  27. ^ "Australian Lifestyle Medicine Association (ALMA). Professor Garry Egger profile". Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  28. ^ University, Southern Cross. "Master of Lifestyle Medicine - 2023 - SCU". www.scu.edu.au. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Staff - Professor Garry Egger - Southern Cross University". www.scu.edu.au. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b Egger, Garry; Binns, Andrew; Cole, Mary-Anne; Ewald, Dan; Davies, Lynne; Meldrum, Hamish; Stevens, John; Noffsinger, Ed (11 January 2014). "Shared medical appointments - an adjunct for chronic disease management in Australia?". Australian Family Physician. 43 (3): 151–154. ISSN 0300-8495. PMID 24600680.
  31. ^ a b Stevens, John; Cole, Mary-Anne; Binns, Andrew; Dixon, John; Egger, Garry (3 January 2014). "A user assessment of the potential for shared medical appointments in Australia". Australian Family Physician. 43 (11): 804–807. ISSN 0300-8495. PMID 25393470.
  32. ^ a b Stevens, John A.; Dixon, John; Binns, Andrew; Morgan, Bob; Richardson, Jeff; Egger, Garry (6 January 2016). "Shared medical appointments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men". Australian Family Physician. 45 (6): 425–429. ISSN 0300-8495. PMID 27622234.
  33. ^ Egger, Garry; Stevens, John; Ganora, Christopher; Morgan, Bob (2018). "Programmed shared medical appointments: A novel procedure for chronic disease management". Australian Journal of General Practice. 47 (1–2): 70–75. doi:10.31128/AFP-07-17-4283. ISSN 2208-7958. PMID 29429312.
  34. ^ a b Egger, Garry; Stevens, John; Volker, Nerida; Egger, Sam (10 January 2019). "Programmed shared medical appointments for weight management in primary care: An exploratory study in translational research". Australian Journal of General Practice. 48 (10): 681–688. doi:10.31128/AJGP-05-19-4940. ISSN 2208-7958. PMID 31569313. S2CID 203624091.
  35. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  36. ^ "More professional recognition for lifestyle medicine pioneer". record.adventistchurch.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
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