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Comprehensive government policy action is needed to address obesity and improve population diets in Australia
Unhealthy diets and obesity are leading contributors to poor health in Australia. Addressing obesity and improving population diets requires a comprehensive government response at the Commonwealth and State/Territory levels.
There is expert consensus internationally on policy actions that are required to improve population nutrition and create healthier food environments.
The Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition Research (GLOBE) at Deakin University (supported by The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre and the Food for Health Alliance) has created the Food Policy Index to assess the extent to which each jurisdiction in Australia is implementing globally recommended policies, and identify priority actions at the state/territory and federal level.
The Food Policy Index covers key policy areas, including specific aspects of food environments (such as food composition, labelling, promotion, prices and provision) that have been shown to have an important impact on population diets and obesity, as well as infrastructure support (including leadership, governance, monitoring and funding) that helps facilitate effective policy implementation.
The 2022 Food Policy Index assessed Australian governments on their implementation of globally recommended policies for addressing unhealthy diets and obesity. The 2022 set of reports included scorecards and prioritised recommendations for each jurisdiction (Federal and State / Territory).
2022 Food Policy Index
2019 Food Policy Index Progress Update
The 2019 Food Policy Index Progress Update provided an update to the first index, (that was released in February 2017).
It summarised and assessed the actions taken (up to the end of 2018) by Australian governments in relation to the recommended policies identified in the 2017 report.
2017 Food Policy Index
The 2017 Food Policy Index was the first comprehensive assessment of Australian governments on their implementation of globally recommended policies for addressing unhealthy diets and obesity. The 2017 set of reports included scorecards and prioritised recommendations for each jurisdiction (Federal and State / Territory).
State and Territory government assessments 2017
Further details on each jurisdiction
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