VicHealth chief calls for junk food ad ban

Todd Harper, CEO of VicHealth, is reported in the Sunday Age yesterday calling on the government to legislate to ban junk food advertising in the interests of addressing the obesity and diabetes epidemics.

The same risk factors leading to increased rates of obesity and diabetes also contribute to dental decay, and three member bodies of the Victorian and National Oral Health Alliances, the Australian Dental Association, Australian Dental & Oral Health Therapists Association and Public Health Association of Australia, are also participants in the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children.

According to their website, "This coalition includes many key Australian health and consumer organisations, and is calling for a marked reduction in the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children under 14 years old. The first step they advocate is to extend the statutory regulations to prohibit all television food and beverage advertising during programs where children make up a significant proportion of the viewing audience. This does not preclude the promotion of healthy eating messages to children through non-commercial social marketing".

The Pull the Plug on Food Advertising campaign is being run to help make the job of parents easier, and to give our kids a healthier future.

Register Online - Sign on to the Pull the Plug campaign

For more information visit http://www.chdf.org.au/foodadstokids/