Regulating Obesity in Australia: Current Frameworks, Reflections upon the Impact of COVID-19 and Future Reform

This article considers the legal and policy regulatory frameworks in Australia relevant to two of the key areas identified as central to managing and preventing obesity, namely, food labelling and junk food advertising. It does so against the backdrop of a global pandemic which resulted in a perfect storm: a global virus colliding with an obesity epidemic. The aetiology of the COVID-19 virus, and the isolation and shut down restrictions associated with combatting it, mean that introducing reforms in these key areas is, more than ever, a public health priority. This article provides important practical recommendations to modify legal and regulatory policy frameworks in the two key areas to address the obesity epidemic in Australia.