Obesity is a national epidemic. Almost two thirds of adults in Australia are overweight or obese, with children being among those affected. While a past Prime Minister of Australia has described obesity as a failure of “individual self-discipline”, we now know better – there is a clear link between the marketing of junk foods and obesity. So tonight, let’s look what Australia is doing to curtail this link.

Currently, junk food advertising in Australia is self-regulated, meaning companies set and enforce their own rules as an industry through codes of conduct. But this self-regulation leaves a lot of loopholes – for example, while it is currently against the code to advertise junk food to children, in 2016, junk food ads managed to air 40% more frequently during children’s TV programs than other programs.

Part of this is because key terms in the codes, such as “unhealthy food” or “directed primarily to children”, are undefined or do not apply to a significant portion of ads. A recent Senate Committee into the issue concluded that current measures “need to be reviewed and strengthened to ensure children and adolescents are better protected from the harmful effects of discretionary food advertising”, which has made junk food advertising a big talking point this election.

Tighter regulation of junk food advertising isn’t a new idea. The ACT in 2015 removed junk-food advertising from buses, and in February 2019, England introduced a ban on London’s transport system. In 2018, Chile banned the use of cartoon characters on sugary cereals and from junk-food being advertised during television programs or children’s websites.
Most recently, the Queensland Government announced a gradual banning of junk food promotions on government-owned sites. A main reason that further progress has stagnated globally is due to lobbying efforts of industry against such measures.

There is currently no national strategy to address obesity – but as future clinicians, we see the health impacts of obesity more clearly than anyone. That’s why this election, we’re calling on the future government to take a proactive approach to more tightly regulate junk food advertising, and better empower Australians to make healthy eating decisions.
Tackling the biggest epidemic of our generation is no easy feat. But by voting with global health in mind, you’re letting your voice be heard: we can do better.

#VoteGlobalHealth

By AMSA Healthy Communities 2019
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