Summit reveals severity of obese Australians

The inaugural Australian Obesity Summit highlighted both the gravity and complexity of the obesity problem in Australia.

Held in Sydney on March 29-30, 2010, there was an absence of agreement in regards to whether obesity policy should be government or self-regulated despite consensus as to the severity of obesity in Australia.

“While there was broad agreement on the severity of the obesity epidemic in Australia, this was not matched by commensurate solidarity regarding a viable solution,” said Katrina Diamonon, consumer markets analyst of Datamonitor.

Speakers from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing for example recommended the Australian government implement standards such as the UK’s Healthy Food Code of Good Practice, which sets out seven areas where the UK Government expects food companies to take action to demonstrate their commitment to promote healthy eating.

Other speakers demanded more robust action from the government.

Claire Hewat, CEO of the Dieticians Association of Australia, called for more funding for obesity prevention initiatives, to teach Australians good nutrition habits and to stem some of the enormous cost of obesity, which Access Economics estimated that obesity cost the Australian economy $58 billion in 2008.