Diet of junk food for WA kids - NEWS.com.au

The department survey asked 900 WA parents how often their child ate meals from fast-food outlets.

It found that one in three toddlers dines on fast food "once or twice a week", while 4.6 per cent of toddlers were eating it "three or four times a week".

The Australian Medical Association of WA has called for new laws requiring all major fast-food retailers to display information about kilojoules on their menu boards, websites and leaflets.

The laws were recently introduced in South Australia and New South Wales, but not WA.

WA Health Minister Kim Hames said yesterday he would monitor the impact of interstate laws.

"The WA Government supports the display of nutritional information, including energy content, on menu boards or at point of sale, particularly in fast and chain food outlets," Dr Hames said. "This is an effective way to help West Australians make informed choices about the food they eat.

"I will be very interested to see the impact of NSW's mandatory scheme for chain-food outlets to display nutrition information."

The Health Department survey found the percentage of children eating junk food was highest among children aged 10 to 15, with 44 per cent of them eating it once or twice a week.

For children aged five to nine that percentage was 40 per cent.

"The fast-food problem in WA is clearly evident in the bulging waistlines of our children," AMA state president David Mountain said. "Over the past 20 years there has been an extraordinary change in our children. They are clearly fatter than they were a generation ago."

Associate Prof Mountain said children under 10 were being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, arthritis and sleep problems because of excess weight.

He said forcing fast-food outlets to display information about the kilojoules in their meals would help parents make informed decisions.

"Information is vital," he said. "Often what looks like a healthy option isn't. For example, a salad can have more fat in it than a burger if it's drenched in dressing.

"If fast-food outlets are happy with what they're selling then they shouldn't have a problem displaying the information."

The Health Department figures were based on survey results from telephone interviews with 900 WA parents. The results, collated as part of the department's annual report on the Health and Wellbeing of Children in WA, showed that 22 per cent of children aged five to 15 were overweight or obese.

This was up from 17.5 per cent in 2007. Only 8.7 per cent of parents thought their child was overweight, with the parents of girls twice as likely to believe their child had weight issues.

Dr Hames said the WA Health Department supported the development of a national approach for the provision of point-of-sale nutritional information to ensure "consistency".

Jacqueline Curran, from Princess Margaret Hospital's obesity clinic, said about 400 children a year were referred for treatment.

In some cases, teenagers referred to the service weighed more than 100kg.

She said many of these children were eating fast food at least four times a week.

Dr Curran, a pediatric endocrinologist, also backed new laws forcing fast-food outlets to display more information about the content of their meals.

The survey found also that nearly 80 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 did not eat the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables.

Mother-of-two Claire Tolley, of Tapping, said that fast food was considered a special treat in her household. She also made sure her daughters, five-year-old Isla and three-year-old Kaitlyn, consumed a lot of fruit and vegetables.

decegliea@sundaytimes.newsltd.com.au

02 Oct, 2011

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