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Fast Food

The increase of fast food restaurants in modern society is like a disease. It seems that there is a McDonalds and KFC on every major street corner.

Australia recognizes that it faces an epidemic of obesity and related health conditions. How can our Federal Government respond to this epidemic through laws and policies? Therefore, today I am representing the Australian Government Department of Food and Health to discuss this issue and apply certain solutions.

At the present, Australia has become the fattest nation in the world, with more than 9 million adults now rated as obese or overweight, according to an alarming new report. That is, almost 60% of the population in Australia is overweight or obese due to fast food and lack of exercises. It is also found that Australians now outweigh Americans and face a future "fat bomb" that could cause 123,000 premature deaths over the next two decades.
In addition, it has been estimated that over 900,000 Australians have diabetes and about half of those are not aware that they have the condition. Diabetes which leads to heart, kidney and eyes diseases affect the quality of life of a large number of Australians.
Moreover, the health consultants explain that fast food which consists less vitamins and minerals than fresh cooked food also includes more preservative and unnatural ingredients.

As a result, steps must be taken in order to reduce the rapid increasing number of unhealthy Australians. First of all, the government needs to encourage and promote healthier behaviors, particularly more nutritious diets and the need for increased physical activity, among citizens.

Another way to discourage unhealthy behaviors is to use law, particularly taxation. We should place specific taxes on foods and beverages of low nutritional value including fast food and soft drinks. The idea is that these taxes will prevent people from buying these products, resulting in a reduction in obesity counts. For those who still choose to...