Majority of Aussies Ready to Back Traffic Light Labeling on Food Items

Around nine out of ten Australians say that they will back the introduction of traffic light labeling on food items and a ban advertisements of junk foods during children's television viewing times.

According to the findings of a study conducted by Cancer Council Victoria and Obesity Policy Coalition, more than 87 percent of those polled said that they want the introduction of color coding warning messages on food items to specify which of them are not healthy while 83 percent said that they would back a ban on junk food ads when their children are watching TV. The study has been published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.

More than 1,500 people between 18 and 64 years of age took part in the survey with more than half of them saying that they would like to see a total ban of junk food ads on television. Junk food advertising through modern platforms, such as texting on mobile phones and emails, should also be banned according to 97 percent of the participants while 89 percent said that such ads should be banned on websites.

"There's high support for government to intervene, but particularly high support among those new (technology) platforms. Children are not being adequately protected, and parents are limited in their ability to intervene, particularly with new technologies such as mobile phones and computers", lead researcher Jane Martin said.

Source: Medindia