ACU PUBH632 Assignment: Kilojoule Labelling Scheme and Public Health

This essay analyzes the Australian Kilojoule Labelling Scheme, a public health law implemented to standardize food labeling with the aim of informing consumers about the calorie content of food products. The essay explores the law's principles, which mandate the display of kilojoule information on menus and packaging, targeting individuals at risk of lifestyle conditions like obesity and diabetes. It assesses the gaps and weaknesses of the law, such as the lack of public knowledge regarding optimal calorie consumption and instances of non-compliance. The analysis further discusses the implications of the legislation in protecting and improving the health and safety of the population, emphasizing the potential to address health issues like obesity and related chronic disorders. The essay concludes by highlighting the expected long-term positive health outcomes through increased awareness of daily kilojoule consumption and the promotion of positive health behaviors.

Running head: HEATHCARE ASSIGNMENT
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Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
The recent decade has observed tremendous changes in the food and marketing sector
and in the process junk foods and fast food has gained much popularity. Australian culture
and food cuisine has also witnessed tremendous changes in the food products and
consumption rates and in the process, these food products has affected the lifestyle and heath
of the consumers. (Wolfson, 2018) However, there are multiple negative impact of these food
products due to which, these products needs to be regulated or controlled for its minimum
usage and consumption. One such law namely “Food regulation: Kilojoule Labelling Scheme
Act, 2018” has been implemented by the Australian government (www.health.vic.gov.au,
2019).
The primary aim of this paper is to effectively discuss this law or regulation so that its
advantages and disadvantages could be effectively identified.
Principles and purpose of the law
In the year 2018, the Australian government implemented this law related to
standardization of food products, ready to eat meals, food and non-alcoholic drinks on menus,
menu boards, food labels and price tags so that the consumers could analyze the average
calorie content and nutritional factors of the food product and then consume those food
products. This law was passed by the Victorian parliament and this law was implemented for
the food products associated with packaged and ready to eat, packaged and not ready to eat,
unpacked, and other food products and those that are available over counters such as bakery,
items such as scrolls, pizzas and finger buns. This has been implemented so that the people
that are associated with critical lifestyle conditions (such as obesity and diabetes) could be
effectively analyses.

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The population associated with it
While analyzing this situation, it should mentioned that majority of the patients and
individuals that are associated with the consumption of these above mentioned food sources
so that the rate of errors could be reduced and while undergoing critical conditions, the could
maintain effective and critical lifestyle. Further people that are associated with sedentary
lifestyle, that are unaware of their food and dietary profile and consumes everything which
they find on their way are the primary target population of this legislation.
Assess the gaps and weaknesses in the public health law:
An exhaustive gamut of evidence is available that has suggested that the linking of the
kilojoule labelling has helped in the reduction of the kilojoules that have been purchased or
consumed by the common Australian population. At present, the Australian legislation
mandates that the packaging on manufactures or pre-packaged food material such as mueseli
bars or frozen pizzas must include nutrition information pertaining to kilojoule or energy
content. However, lack of kilojoule labelling on the ready to eat food items led to a
heightened consumption of calories. It was evaluated by the researchers that this resulted in
the significant rise in the incidence of obesity among the adolescents and the adult population
of Australia. The evidence base informs that the public has extended complete support in
favour of the labelling scheme and the Australian government has made it mandatory for fast
food chains to comply with the regulation (www.health.vic.gov.au, 2019). However, the
weaknesses or the gaps that have been identified in association with the legislation can be
explained as lack of knowledge among the public about the optimal level of calorie
consumption and the proper method to interpret the calorie information (Hartley et al., 2018).
Further, cases of non-compliance by food-chain outlets are also an issue pertaining to the
poor business outcome (Hartley et al., 2018). Therefore, there is an exceeding need to foster
monitoring system so as to identify and penalise instances of non-compliance and promote

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health literacy and awareness so as to ensure that the normal public is adequately empowered
to interpret the kilojoule information mentioned on the pack.
Implication of the legislation in protecting and improving the health and safety of the
population
The legislation expects the food joints to display on every menu the statement that the
average adult daily energy intake is equivalent to 8700 KJ (Roy et al., 2016). The legislation
is expected to address health issues such as obesity that is a root cause of a number of chronic
health disorders such as Diabetes, Hypertension, cardiovascular disorders as well as
depression. It is expected that the integration of the legislation would help to acquire positive
patient outcome and enhance the quality of life of the common Australian Population (Roy et
al., 2016).
Conclusion
Thus, to conclude it can be stated that the kilojoule labelling scheme is expected to
promote positive health outcome in the long run by making people aware about the daily
kilojoule consumption. Awareness would help to foster positive health behaviour and
promote holistic wellness.

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References
Hartley, I. E., Keast, R. S., &Liem, D. G. (2018). Physical activity-equivalent label reduces
consumption of discretionary snack foods. Public health nutrition, 21(8), 1435-1443.
Roy, R., Beattie-Bowers, J., Ang, S. M., Colagiuri, S., & Allman-Farinelli, M. (2016). The
effect of energy labelling on menus and a social marketing campaign on food-
purchasing behaviours of university students. BMC public health, 16(1), 727.
www.health.vic.gov.au (2019). [online] Www2.health.vic.gov.au. Available at:
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/~/media/Health/Files/Collections/Factsheets/K/
kilojoule-labelling-business-february-2017 [Accessed 28 Aug. 2019].
Chung, I. M., Kim, J. K., Lee, K. J., Park, S. K., Lee, J. H., Son, N. Y., ... & Kim, S. H.
(2018). Geographic authentication of Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) using multi-
elemental and stable isotopic data combined with multivariate analysis. Food
chemistry, 240, 840-849.
Wolfson, R. L., Chantranupong, L., Wyant, G. A., Gu, X., Orozco, J. M., Shen, K., ... & Abu-
Remaileh, M. (2017). KICSTOR recruits GATOR1 to the lysosome and is necessary
for nutrients to regulate mTORC1. Nature, 543(7645), 438.
Hartley, I. E., Keast, R. S., &Liem, D. G. (2018). Physical activity-equivalent label reduces
consumption of discretionary snack foods. Public health nutrition, 21(8), 1435-1443.
Roy, R., Beattie-Bowers, J., Ang, S. M., Colagiuri, S., & Allman-Farinelli, M. (2016). The
effect of energy labelling on menus and a social marketing campaign on food-
purchasing behaviours of university students. BMC public health, 16(1), 727.

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www.health.vic.gov.au (2019). [online] Www2.health.vic.gov.au. Available at:
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/~/media/Health/Files/Collections/Factsheets/K/
kilojoule-labelling-business-february-2017 [Accessed 28 Aug. 2019].
regulation: Kilojoule Labelling Scheme Act, 2018
Chung, I. M., Kim, J. K., Lee, K. J., Park, S. K., Lee, J. H., Son, N. Y., ... & Kim, S. H.
(2018). Geographic authentication of Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) using multi-
elemental and stable isotopic data combined with multivariate analysis. Food
chemistry, 240, 840-849.