Australian Medical Association

Food provides our bodies with the energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals to live, grow and function properly.  Concerning trends have been observed in the eating habits of many Australians and the implications are serious. The National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines 2011 provides population level guidance on healthy eating patterns and related guidance for health professionals.  

The AMA's Submission highlights that a range of measures is needed to improve nutritional literacy, including education on energy needs and portion sizes, improved food labelling, and affordable access to healthy food options.  The AMA Submission also identifies a need for practical resources aimed at medical practitioners including access to a database of locally available supports such dieticians, healthy cooking classes and walking groups.

An increasing number of Australians are at a high risk of serious disease and premature death because of excess body weight or obesity. The National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Clinical Guidelines on the Management of Overweight and Obesity is an important resource for medical practitioners who identify and support patients who are overweight and obese.  Medical practitioners also play a preventive role in identifying those patients who are at risk of becoming overweight, particularly children and young people.  

The AMA believes that a key challenge is to ensure that the Clinical Guidelines are practical and easy for medical practitioners to adopt as part of their clinical practice.  The AMA's Submission highlights the key role of medical practitioners in preventing overweight and obesity, particularly among children and young people, as well as providing support to those patients who wish to lose or maintain their current body weight.  The AMA Submission advocates around the development (with appropriate consultation) of practical resources, such as short term eating plans, evidence summaries, multi media videos and fact sheets that can support medical practitioners and patients in this area.

It is difficult for Australian families to find the right information they need to make healthy choices about the food they consume. The AMA believes that a system of Traffic Light labelling on food products can provide easy to understand nutritional information for people to make those choices. This AMA paper publication details the evidence for a Traffic Light system of labelling and its advantages compared to alternative approaches.

It is difficult for Australian families to find the right information they need to make healthy choices about the food they consume. This AMA publication outlines the case for a Traffic Light system of labelling on food products to ensure that consumers can easily recognise and compare the healthiness of food products.

MJA release - Weight loss programs have a high long-term failure rate because once people become obese, their bodies are programmed to regain any weight that they manage to lose, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA strongly supports a ban on the broadcast advertising of junk food to children, particularly during children’s television times.

MJA media release -

This position statement notes the centrality of sound nutrition to good health and recommends measures that the government and food industry can take to improve the nutritional opportunities and habits of Australians, particularly children.