Promote healthy weight among children
Reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising by banning it on NSW Government owned or controlled assets, starting with public transport.
All children in NSW must have the best chance to grow into healthy adults. However, food marketing influences children’s eating habits, with advertising of unhealthy foods reaching a significant number of young people each day. The next NSW Government could lead by example and refrain from contributing to the unhealthy food environment.
Restrictions on food marketing are one of the most cost-effective interventions for obesity prevention in children.
In NSW, 57.8% of adults and 23% of children (aged 5-16 years) experience being overweight or obese, placing unsustainable pressures on tertiary healthcare systems and heightening risk of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
NSW PHAA, along with 13 health organisations and individuals, support Cancer Council NSW in the 2022 joint statement calling on the next NSW Government to show leadership by restricting unhealthy food and beverage advertisement on state-controlled assets, starting with public transport.
See our election platform document for more evidence, and the policy context.
Images: Freepik / Flaticon and Icon1000000/Canva Pro.