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Fast Food Chains: Obesity In Australia And New Zealand

1220 Words5 Pages

HPE Assignment
Harry Bligh
Australian and New Zealand obesity rates are climbing more rapidly than any other western country. Strategies to combat this national health crisis must be implemented. Fast food outlets such as Mc Donald’s are considered to be a major contributor to obesity in our society, but without health warnings consumers are unable to make informed decisions. The introduction of plain packaging within the tobacco industry has proven to be an effective tool in reducing the number of smokers. Fast food chains should be subject to similar disclosure regulations with respect to consumption. Junk food has been proven to have similar addictive effects as drugs and tobacco yet it is not subject to similar regulation. The fast food …show more content…

Most industries within our modern day society are required to fully inform consumers of associated risks and warnings on products have recently proven to be successful. Given research has established a correlation between junk food, obesity and poor health fast food distribution should be subject to similar information disclosure requirements. Despite the rapidly climbing obesity figures, fast food chains continue to sell “meals” that have been linked to serious health risks including diabetes, high blood pressure, gout and heart disease. Powerfully crafted advertising campaigns render fast food more appealing and even healthy. In a time poor society where fast food is a necessary commodity these ads appeal to consumers by emphasising the benefits of convenience and disguising adverse health risks. These ads are not required to state calorie or nutritional information. Readily available, cheap food and frequent deals entice customers to make poor food choices and the industry is not held accountable for the impact their product has on health. Fast food chains need to be made to be responsible for their products and packaging regulation would help achieve this. In a separate study published in 2012, researchers assessed ads against advertising regulations. During the 8 weeks of data gathering, there were a total of 951 breaches of combined regulations. More than 80 per cent of all food and beverage ads were for items classified as ''extras'' in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Two of the five biggest advertisers, Simplot and McDonald's, were signatories to voluntary regulations. The public health advocate and the director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute in Western Australia, Mike Daube, said he was ''profoundly pessimistic'' that governments would be heavy handed with food manufacturers. ''The food industry

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