Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Bulletin: A Growing Problem: Trends and Patterns in Overweight and Obesity Among Adults in Australia, 1980 to 2001 (2003) 1 <www.aihw.gov.au> at 28 July 2004; see also CameronA. ‘Overweight and Obesity in Australia: The 1999–2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab)’ (2003) 178MJA427.
2.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia's Health 2002(2002) 178 <www.aihw.gov.au> at 28 July 2004.
3.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2003 (2003) 171 <www.aihw.gov.au/publications/ihw/hwaatsip03/index.html> at 28 July 2004. The Report Australia's Health 2002, ibid indicates that among Indigenous Australians, ‘[a]pproximately 25% of adult Indigenous males and 29% of adult Indigenous females were classified as obese compared to about 19% of both other Australian adult males and adult females’ 206.
4.
Eat Well Australia: A Strategic Framework for Public Health Nutrition, Developed by Strategic Inter-Governmental Nutrition Alliance of the National Public Health Partnership <www.nphp.gov.au/publications/index.htm#signal> (2001) (at September 2003); National Health and Medical Research Council, Acting on Australia's Weight A Strategic Plan for the Prevention of Overweight and Obesity and Acting on Australia's Weight, Summary Report (1997).
5.
Editorial, ‘What should we Do about Overweight and Obesity?’ (1999) 171MJA599 (author's italics).
6.
‘McDonald's Fat Plan: Just Watch your Step’, The Weekend Australian (Sydney) 16–17 April 2004, 13.
7.
BoosleyS, ‘WHO ‘Infiltrated’ by Food Industry’, The Guardian (London) 9 January 2003.
8.
See NestleM, Food Politics: How the Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (2002) Part Two – ‘Working the System’, 93, 171. See also GrahamJ, ‘U.S. Sets off Furor in Anti-obesity Fight’, Chicago Tribune Online Edition <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news> a report of the Bush Administration's objection to a WHO anti-obesity plan. It was said that ‘U.S. criticism of the [WHO's] plan is being driven by the sugar industry, grocers and other U.S. multinational food companies that want to forestall emerging international efforts to regulate food marketing, pricing, production and trade’. See also SteinR, ‘U.S. to fight WHO anti-obesity plan’, The Guardian Weekly (London) 25 January 2004 (originally in The Washington Post).
Current requirements for labelling are provided by Standard 1.2.8 Food Standards Code (Nutritional Information requirements). <www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandardscode/> at 28 July 2004.
CritserG, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World (2003) claims, for example, that a serving of McDonalds chips has increased from 200 calories (1960) to 610 calories (2002) 28.
13.
Ibid. Critser claims that in the United States, the advertising budget of the soft drink industry is US$600 million annually. By comparison, the National Cancer Institute has a budget of US$1 million to promote healthy eating of fruit and vegetables, 173. In Britain it is said that ‘less than pound;2m was being spent to encourage children to eat and drink healthy products, compared with pound;600m on commercial food’. WintourP, ‘Ad agency apologises over “pester mum” commercial’, The Guardian Weekly (London) 20–26 November 2003.
14.
LawrenceF, ‘Eat Chocolate and Get a Free Volleyball?’, The Guardian Weekly (London) 1–7 May 2003. See also The Guardian (London) 29 April 2003. The Food Standards Agency (the UK regulatory agency) responded to the arrangement by saying ‘We were not consulted about this scheme and do not endorse it. Nor do we consider it desirable in terms of diet.’ BattyD, ‘Food Watchdog Angry at Schools Chocolate Deal’, Guardian (London) 1 May 2003 <http://society.guardian.co.uk/publichealth/story/0,11098,947434,00.html>.
15.
See NestleM, Food Politics: How the Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (2002) ch 9; Critser, above n 13, 170; and SchlosserE, Fast Food Nation (2002) 51–7.
16.
The effect of a tax is open to debate. See MarshallT, ‘Exploring a Fiscal Food Policy: The Case of Diet and Ischaemic Heart Disease’, (2000) 320BMJ301; KennedyEOffuttS, ‘Commentary: Alternative Nutrition Outcomes Using a Fiscal Food Policy’ (2000) 320BMJ304; StanleyJ, ‘Will Sales Tax Influence Consumption?’ (letter) (2000) 320BMJ1469; and WalterR, ‘Food Taxation and Price Elasticity’ 28 January 2000 <http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/320/7230/301#6468> at 28 July 2004.
17.
DrewnowskiASpecterS, ‘Poverty and Obesity: The Role of Energy Density and Energy Costs’ (2004) 79Am J Clin Nutr6. 164 — AltLJ Vol 29:4 Aug 2004
BaumanAdrian, Getting Australia Active: Towards Better Practice for the Promotion of Physical Activity, NPHP 2002 executive summary <www.nphp.gov.au/publications/sigpah/gaa.pdf> at 30 July 2004.
