Do You Get The Water At The Takeaway Or The Soft Drink?

Deakin University has a Global Obesity Centre, which is focussed on identifying cause of obesity and ways it can be reduced.

Researchers from the Centre have recently evaluated the nutrition policies of the biggest quick serve outlets in the country and found interesting results.

The ‘Inside our Quick Service Restaurants’ report  the ranking of the top 11 quick serve companies in Australia was based on the policies and commitment to obesity reduction and nutrition issues for the population.

The highest available score was 100 and would demonstrate a company wide commitment to obesity reduction and the nutrition of the population.

Subway was the highest ranking of our quick serve companies with a score of 48, and the lowest from the evaluation was Domino’s Pizza with a score of three.The average score was 27.

The evaluation of nine of the 11 companies was done using only publicly available information, as only Subway and Nandos provided information when requested.

For most of the companies evaluated during the first of it’s kind project, the public information available is limited to the kilojoule breakdown displayed on the menu and to material on their websites.

The information used in the research was assessed using the ‘Business Impact Assessment – Obesity and population nutrition” tool, which was developed by a network of public health researchers from around the world, known as INFORMAS.

Company policies related to obesity prevention and nutrition for  the following are the basis of the work done by the tool; corporate strategy, product formulation, nutrition labelling, promotion to children and adolescents, product accessibility, and relationships with external groups

The report’s lead author Associate Professor Gary Sacks, said; “The average Australian household spends almost 32 per cent of its food budget on takeaway and eating out, and the average fast food meal provides up to half of an adult’s daily energy requirements. Unhealthy diets are creating a public health crisis in Australia. Every part of our community, including the fast food sector, needs to do their part in making the healthy choice the easy choice for all Australians.”

The Report presented several recommendations to address this issue, including;

• Offering water instead of frozen or other soft drinks as the drink in meal  and special deals  and include salads
• Ensure that healthy options are price compatible with other options
• Restrict advertising of less healthy options, especially at times when children are watching / listening
• Set targets, and timeframes, for the reduction of salt, saturated fats and sugar in the less healthy foods
• Reduce portion sizes, eg there is no need to have a burger, chips, a drink, and nuggets as a meal deal