Jemma advocates for healthy food environments

BHlthSc Nutr&Diet AdvAPD GAICD

THE PROBLEM

Have you ever stopped to think about how much unhealthy food surrounds us?

Gone are the days of popping by the local milk bar and grocer to stock up on what we need, our world has evolved to a place where junk food is everywhere.

Our food supply is dominated by unhealthy foods and beverages that are:

Cheap
Readily available
Heavily marketed

Supermarket Jemma O'Hanlon Dietitian Advocacy

In Australia:

1 in 15 adults and 1 in 20 children meet their vegetable intake.
One-third of the diet is junk food, and 42% is ultra-processed.
53% of packaged foods in supermarkets are unhealthy.
Obesity has tripled since 1980.
2 in 3 adults and 1 in 4 kids are living with overweight or obesity.
Every 12 minutes, a person dies from cardiovascular disease. Poor diet is the leading contributor.
27,500 people die a preventable death from an unhealthy diet every year.

We must act now. It’s time to clean up our food environment.

THE SOLUTION

My vision is a place where healthy food is abundant.

Where the healthy choice is the easy choice.

Where healthy food powers a healthy planet.

advocacy priorities

What do we need to do to bring about change?

PREVENTION

National Nutrition Policy
Prevention 5% of the health budget

EDUCATION

High impact, sustained public education campaigns
National behaviour change programs

ADVERTISING

Restrictions on junk food advertising and sport sponsorships
Limit price promotions on unhealthy products

AFFORDABILITY

Improved affordability of healthy foods
Disincentivise unhealthy foods

HEALTH STAR RATING

Mandatory Health Star Rating
Food processing included in the Health Star Rating algorithm

NUTRITION INFORMATION PANEL

Mandatory added sugar labelling
Mandatory energy labelling on alcohol

REFORMULATION

Strengthened reformulation of the food supply
Healthier checkouts

government relations

I advocated strongly for nutrition policy reforms at Parliament House in Canberra and Victoria during my five years as a Director of Dietitians Australia.