The Queensland Minister for Health has announced a mass-media campaign that will use shock tactics similar to anti-smoking advertisments.
According to the Queensland Department of Health, obesity rates for adults in Queensland have doubled in the last 16 years, with nearly a third of adults in the State obese or overweight, according to a government report released in 2012. One in five Queensland children is overweight, according to the report, and one in ten is obese – nearly one-third of the State’s children.
The new campaign, costing $7.5 million, will run over three years.
The Queensland Government is considering adopting a television ad from a recent Western Australian campaign that showed graphic images of fat inside the human body.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young has suggested that the similar graphic images should appear on the labels for ‘junk foods’. In November 2012, Australian Food News reported that Dr Young also called on parents to ban sugary drinks, including fruit juice, in their children’s diets.
Earlier this week, Dr Young launched ‘Get Healthy’, a new telephone information and coaching service that forms part of the broader campaign. The telephone service will provide Queenslanders with advice about nutrition and being more physically active.
