AMA attends policy roundtable on junk food advertising regulation

Allies in the fight against junk food marketing met in Canberra to discuss policies to reform the sector.

On Friday 10 February, the AMA attended a policy roundtable hosted by the Hon. Sophie Scamps MP to discuss reforms to junk food advertising regulation. The AMA was represented by Dr Kerrie Aust, GP and President-elect of ACT AMA and Ms Anita Mills, AMA Public Health Manager.

The AMA is very concerned about the rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia, and fully supports measures to limit junk food advertising that targets children.

Industry marketing tactics are multifaceted across digital and broadcast media and are continually evolving. It is apparent that existing advertising regulatory frameworks in Australia are doing little to prevent the marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products to children.

The AMA supports interventions to reduce harmful marketing, as part of a broader suite of public health measures required to drive down the burden of chronic disease in Australia.

(photo credit: Dr Nitin Kapur, RACP).