Table 2.
Respondent agreement with proposed regulatory approaches for overweight and obesity prevention (n = 2011)
| Question | Very/somewhat serious (%) | Not too/not at all serious (%) | Don’t know (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How serious do you consider the problem of overweight and obesity in Australia? | 92.5 | 6.1 | 1.4 |
| A great deal/some/a little (%) | None at all (%) | Don’t know (%) | |
| How much government regulations do you think there should be around protecting people from overweight and obesity in Australia? | 86.1 | 9.4 | 4.4 |
| Agree (%) | Neither agree nor disagree (%) | Disagree (%) | |
| Government regulations should restrict advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages on television during times when children are watching | 78.9 | 12.2 | 8.9 |
| Government regulations should restrict advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages to children on the internet | 75.8 | 13.9 | 10.2 |
| Government regulations should restrict advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages at sporting events | 71.4 | 17.0 | 11.6 |
| Government regulations should restrict advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages in public spaces (e.g. bus stops, train stations, roadside) | 70.3 | 18.3 | 11.4 |
| The government should regulate food and beverage advertising | 69.5 | 18.0 | 12.6 |
| Government regulations should prohibit sugar-sweetened beverage companies from sponsoring children’s sporting organisations, teams and events | 63.4 | 18.6 | 18.0 |
| Government regulations should prohibit fast food companies from sponsoring children’s sporting organisations, teams and events | 58.7 | 21.6 | 19.7 |
| The government should introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and use the money raised to fund health services and programs to reduce overweight and obesity | 57.2 | 17.4 | 25.5 |
| The government should introduce a tax on unhealthy foods, and use the money raised to fund health services and programs to reduce overweight and obesity | 54.6 | 18.6 | 26.9 |
| The government should introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages | 54.5 | 16.9 | 28.5 |
| The government should introduce a tax on unhealthy foods | 48.9 | 19.7 | 31.3 |
Descriptive results are based on data weighted for education level. The “% agree” category represents respondents who “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” with the proposed regulatory measures. The “% disagree” category represents respondents who “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” with the proposed regulatory measures