TABLE 6.

Themes and corresponding participant quotes from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and/or Health Practitioners (AHWs) regarding their role, factors impacting on weight management, enablers and barriers to addressing obesity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Theme	Description	Indicative quotes
1: Willingness to address childhood obesity	Overweight and obesity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is recognised as an issue by the AHWs Comfort with addressing obesity varied between AHWs‐	“Well, it's an issue in regard to child development, and it's an issue in regard to their health in the future because…Aboriginal people are sometimes five times more likely to get chronic diseases than non‐Indigenous people because of their lifestyle and you know, dietary factors. [So] it's a big issue around people's lifespans and milestones in their life.” – AHW 2 “… I’m sure there are some people that struggle to have these conversations with people. Well, if they'd been trained accordingly, they could feel more empowered to have these conversations…” – AHW 3 “Probably because I’m a bit older… that just comes with life experience… So, I’m very comfortable to get out there and educate people and help our mob to get healthy and live a longer life, I’m absolutely all for it. – AHW 6
2: Impact of culture on obesity and nutrition	Cultural views can impact on weight management and eating behaviours for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children	“I think fat babies in Indigenous families [are] seen as cute. They're fat, they're healthy? But no.” – AHW 1
3: AHWs can't address obesity on their own	Importance of AHWs being involved and acting with scope of practice and collaborating with other health professionals to address obesity	“Most programs we would be trying to send our mob to would be people that have got AHWs involved with them… because, it means that our mob are going to be comfortable and they'll follow through… I would be definitely an advocate for my mob. But I’m not a professional nutritionist… [for] a one on one with like a child health situation I would use a clinician to do that and just be there to support the clinician and to help our people…” – AHW 6 “It's going to be a holistic approach to it in regards to allied health… It's not just for any one person to tackle on their own, but GPs, along with dietitians, parents, psychologists, making sure [that] the holistic health of the child is good.” – AHW 4
4: AHWs need help and support to perform this role	Limited awareness about programs and lack of weight management initiatives designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to refer children and their families	“I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve got pretty limited knowledge within women's and children's with the programs that they run”. – AHW 3 “Like skills, just do workshops and get my knowledge up, because the community's going to come to me as an advanced health worker because they feel comfortable listening to me, before they'll listen to someone else, aren't they?” – AHW 6