Obesity Announcement A Wasted Opportunity

Minister Abbott has announced a ministerial anti-obesity taskforce and re-announced a national child nutrition survey, as well as extending the existing program of community ambassadors for healthy living and establishing a "healthy weight" website.

"None of these initiatives are as hard-hitting as they need to be," Dr Haikerwal said.

"This is simply a big, fat, wasted opportunity.

"The taskforce is important but needs to be task-oriented to prevent it becoming just another talk-fest.

"Hopefully the inclusion on that taskforce of the Communications Minister indicates it will consider bans on advertising junk food to children.

"The nutrition survey we already knew about - and we support such a survey as long as it examines everybody, not just children and as long as it's done independently.

"Accepting funds for the survey from the Australian Food and Grocery Council raises justifiable concerns regarding the impartiality of the survey and its results.

"Doing the survey properly will require at least $3 million more than the government's committed."

Community ambassadors are a good idea, Dr Haikerwal said, but again, nothing new.

"Elite sportspeople are important ambassadors for fitness but, as I pointed out earlier this week, real people need real role models to help motivate them to just participate in exercise," he said.

"How about role models who take exercise regularly, not seriously?

"How about funding for family fitness, or for schools and other institutions to more effectively teach good nutritional habits?"

Mr Abbott's new "healthy weight" website is a cheap, easy way out, Dr Haikerwal said.

"There is a need for real, personalised, individual information for the growing number of Australians who are battling weight problems and associated chronic diseases," he added.

"To provide that effectively takes time, it takes money and it takes guts from the government."