The Australian Food and Grocery Council, Australia’s peak food and grocery manufacturing industry association, has welcomed the Rudd Government’s launch of the Measure Up campaign to tackle obesity in the community. AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said that any additional tool to help educate the community about their health was always a welcome addition. The $30 million campaign will involve print and TV advertising imploring people to measure their waists to see if they are at high... ...Read more »
Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has today criticised the Queensland Prevention Alliance’s call for a total ban of food and drink advertising directed at children. The Queensland Prevention Alliance, which includes the AMA (Australian Medical Association) Queensland, Cancer Council Queensland, Diabetes Australia – Queensland and the Heart Foundation, is set to campaign heavily to ban junk food advertising to children over the next few months. ARA... ...Read more »
The latest Australian Total Diet Study, conducted by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), confirms that many Australians are not getting enough iodine in their food.”Insufficient iodine intake, particularly in groups such as pregnant women, babies, and young children, is of great concern,” Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Senator Jan McLucas, said today. “Mild to moderate iodine deficiency can result in children having learning difficulties and can affect... ...Read more »
Scientists have discovered a new possible explanation for why people who eat more fruit and vegetables may gain protection against the spread of cancers, potentially leading to the creation of improved functional foods. They have found that a fragment released from pectin, found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to and is believed to inhibit galectin 3 (Gal3), a protein that plays a role in all stages of cancer progression. “Most claims for the anticancer effects of foods are based on population... ...Read more »
Leading Australian obesity experts have called on Cricket Australia to end its sponsorship arrangements with KFC, claiming its promotional support for a fast food giant is unhelpful at a time when childhood obesity is considered a major concern.The call was made in a letter published yesterday in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) by the directors of Sydney University’s Institute of Nutrition Obesity and Exercise. Professors Stephen Colagiuri and Ian Caterson said they were alarmed during... ...Read more »
The release of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey last Friday provided some interesting findings for food retailers and manufacturers beyond the discovery that 23% of 2-16 year-old children are overweight or obese; with required dietary changes providing opportunities for many in the food industry. Milk-related products and cereals and cereal products (cakes, biscuits, pastries etc.) were the greatest contributors to energy intake, according to the survey - the first of its kind to involve... ...Read more »
The Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey has found that 72 per cent of 2-16 year old children were of a healthy weight, but 17 per cent were overweight, 6 per cent obese and 5 per cent underweight.The results of the 2007 survey were released today by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Jan McLucas; the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke; and the Chief Executive of the Australian Food and Grocery... ...Read more »
Fibre, green tea extract and soy protein are among the ingredients food and beverage manufacturers are turning towards to help lighten the growing pressures of the global obesity epidemic, according to Euromonitor International’s new report “Weight Management Ingredients in Foods and Beverages“. As consumers increasingly turn to healthier lifestyle choices and governments push to address and create a solution for rising obesity rates, manufacturers are looking towards ingredients... ...Read more »
All school pupils in grades one to three (P1 - P3) in Scotland are to be entitled to free school meals following successful pilot schemes. The move is designed to improve the nutritious content of foods eaten by young children. Plans for a national roll out were announced overnight after pilot schemes ran across five local authorities and 35,000 children between October 2007 and June 2008. Uptake of meals among these students rose from 53 per cent to 75 per cent. Within the target group of pupils... ...Read more »
French Health Minister, Roselyne Bachelot, has rejected calls for a higher tax on foods considered to be unhealthy. A French parliamentary report released on Tuesday outlined 70 proposals for tackling obesity, including a controversial “junk food tax” that would increase the tax applied to certain food products. It would result in high fat, high sugar and high salt foods commanding a VAT (Value Added Tax) of almost 20 per cent - well above the current 5.5 per cent level. Ms Bachelot cited... ...Read more »