The Australian Medical Association has recommended the use of graphic television advertisements in Victoria to warn people about the risks of eating fatty foods. Rising rates of obesity has prompted these extreme measures. The proposed ads in television and newspaper would cost $25 million and would show the effects of fat on the body’s internal organs. The AMA’s proposals are part of a submission calling for $63 million to fight obesity.
AMA Victoria’s Dr Gary Speck said this would be emulating the American ads. He said, “The male in the ad had a huge amount of fat, I think its 10 pounds of fat… And alternatively [he] eats a number of sachets of sugar to illustrate how much sugar the drink has.” He added, “It’s trying to bring it to people’s attention to realize that it’s not a good pattern of eating or drinking… It’s a matter of being aware that if you eat those things you’ve got to take that into account.” The American ad goes on to warn that just one sugary soft drink a day over a year can make you up to five kilograms fatter and increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. These proposed ads would explain the damage to the body much like the quit smoking ads.
Dr Harry Hemley, president of AMA Victoria said, “The ads that we’re proposing would highlight the negative effects of obesity on your vital organs… As people gain a lot of weight and become obese, excess fat is gradually deposited on the surface of the heart, as well as the loose tissue around the kidneys and liver and other supporting tissues within the abdomen… With an extra layer of fat, which could be several inches thick, the heart has to work a lot harder to pump blood around the body…Instead of showing a person inhaling cigarette smoke, an obesity ad could go into the body of an obese person and show the heart struggling to beat with a thick layer of fat.” He added, “Alternatively, it could borrow from Quit’s autopsy-style advertisements and show the heart of a healthy person, compared with the visibly distressed, enlarged and fat-coated heart of an obese person.”
“There is no doubt that obesity is going to overtake smoking as the major killer for Australians,” AMA federal president Dr Andrew Pesce said. “We have been campaigning against smoking for 30 years and are starting to see smoking rates decrease. Obesity is our next target.”
Health Minister David Davis said he would consider funding the AMA’s proposal as part of its next budget and it recognized “the importance of tackling obesity as a significant public health issue”. An estimated 60 per cent of Australian men, 45 per cent of women and one in four children are overweight or obese. The cost of obesity through lost productivity, premature death, disability and medical treatment, is more than $58 billion a year.
This proposal is being supported by the Obesity Policy Coalition that comprises of the Cancer Council, VicHealth, Diabetes Australia-Vic and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University. The coalition’s senior policy adviser, Jane Martin said, “Graphic advertisements such as those used by Quit have also been shown to be very effective in raising awareness and influencing behaviour change.”
But there are criticisms too. Weight management specialist Rick Kausman added that this plan could lead to anxiety and distress for those battling obesity. He said, “The reasons why people become above their most healthy weight are so complex and so individual, we can’t just raise awareness without giving people an appropriate map to help them make a change when they’re ready. People already feel judged and shamed and if we pour more of that on top, then it’s just going to make the situation worse. People will turn off and not listen, or feel worse about themselves.” He added that healthier messages, encouraging people to slow down at meal times and only eat when hungry, would be better.
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