Should The Government Improve Eating Habits Of Young Australians?

The “Ministry of Food” is originally based off the British government’s actions during the Second World War. During this time, the majority of the nation lived under food rations. Advice and recipes were written in magazines and heard on the radio, making the public aware of how to continue pursuing healthy eating habits. Despite the war’s restrictions, the awareness the government injected into the population had a lasting effect – the overall eating habits of the public improved. Nowadays, Australia seems to be under a modern day food crisis. The increase of working hours, extracurricular involvement, and other activities that fill the family’s lifestyle has discontinued the generations of good cooking skills. Instead, people resort to convenience

Although nutritious eating derives from the choices of an individual, the government can be held accountable for improving the eating habits of young Australians. Governments are responsible for fixing this problem, as this individual fault reflects the entire of society. In addition, the government’s influence over people is very strong. This makes it the government’s responsibility to provide practical ways that stimulate change. Furthermore, government focus on this issue would ensure that the costs spent on dietary and health matters decrease allowing precious budget dollars to be spent on other important affairs. For these reasons, it is crucial that the improvements of young Australian’s eating habits involve the

Data from 2009-10 shows that Australia spent $121.4 billion on health, with these funds being issued towards hospitals, medical services, medicines and more. These large amount of funds support the costs put towards many conditions including cardiovascular diseases. Accounting for the greatest amount of spending, approximately 31% of coronary heart diseases are caused by a poor diet – high consumption of saturated fats. These statistics show how poor eating habits of adolescents reflect the costs spent on disease and health matters. The fail to achieve proper dietary habits shows how the young people of Australia do not adhere to the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Adolescents. This document provides a table divided into age categories and food groups signifying how much certain foods should be consumed daily based on the age of the individual. The lack to pursue the outcomes of Australian Dietary Guidelines can explain the reason of many Australian’s poor health. Subsequently, large amount of funds and money have been targeted towards health matters annually. If governments used their effective methods of change, this would ensure that the majority of the money spent on health currently, could be concentrated towards other important components in the future. In other words, if the government focused on instilling healthy food habits