Doctor suicide – resources and a need for action
February 10, 2017AMA (NSW) President: bid to deport doctor is wrong
February 23, 2017AMA (NSW) President, Prof Brad Frankum, says the Federal Health Minister is letting the people of NSW down by dismissing a sugar tax so readily.
“The problem posed by the massive incidence of overweight and obesity in NSW and Australia is a complex one for which there is no silver bullet.
“We will need a range of measures to discourage unhealthy eating habits and encourage healthy levels of physical activity, to both prevent more people from becoming obese and assist people who are overweight improve their health.
“It’s quite clear that not enough is being done to prevent obesity, since two thirds of adults and a quarter of children are overweight or obese.
“Considering overweight and obesity is the biggest contributor to chronic disease in Australia, it is very premature to be dismissing any individual component of a suite of measures, recommended by experts,” Prof Frankum said.
“A tax on added sugar is not about raising the prices of people’s grocery bills, in fact, it would help as part of an overall education strategy.
“The sorts of things it would ideally be applied to are things like sugary drinks, which are not a necessary part of anyone’s diet.
“When a standard 375ml can of drink has one-and-a-half times the World Health Organisation’s daily recommended adult added sugar intake, people should be thinking twice about drinking soda anyway.
“Knowing that a tax applies to something because of its unhealthy added sugar content would help people in identifying poor food choices.
“There is always an alternative to drinking soft drinks – and water is completely sugar free.
“If people choose to continue purchasing sugary drinks, the money raised from a tax would be best invested in education and exercise programmes.
“We need more trustworthy advice for people on healthy eating and healthy activity levels and that has to come from government sources.
“NSW Health is doing well with its Make Healthy Normal campaign but there is certainly more the Federal Government can and should be doing.
“What it shouldn’t be doing is rejecting expert advice,” Prof Frankum said.
Media contact: Lachlan Jones 0419 402 955