Upsizing Australia's waistline: the dangers of meal deals
*Embargoed until 12 noon Sunday 8 December 2002
In a letter to the Editor in the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, Deakin University senior lecturer David Cameron-Smith, lecturer Timothy Crowe and nutrition consultant Shane Bilsborough warn of the dangers of opting for special "meal deals" at fast food outlets.
Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in the Australian population has more than doubled — from 8.1 percent in 1981 to 20.5 percent in 2000. The authors claim that the increasing consumption of fast foods is an important contributing factor to the obesity epidemic.
"A key feature of fast-food marketing is the use of upsizing, a strategy designed to provide the consumer with a 'value for money' addition to their meal," say the authors.
"For a small extra cost, customers get deals such as larger servings of chips and soft drink. Unfortunately, the extra-value serves also deliver a disproportionate increase in kilojoules, with little or no extra nutritional value. On average, a 12% increase in purchase cost increases the energy content by 23%, with a 25% increase in fat and a 38% increase in sugars.
"Based on data from the National Nutrition Survey, these single meal deals constitute 52% and 77% of the average daily energy intake of Australian males and females, respectively.
"With the growing disease burden of overweight and obesity on the Australian healthcare system, the public needs to be aware of the extra kilojoules they are getting when they choose special meal deals.
The authors' study looked at meal deals offered by four major fast food outlets.
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
CONTACT: Dr David Cameron-Smith 0421 042 467 03 9244 6502 (W)
Judith Tokley (AMA) 0408 824 306