England's ban list also includes less obvious junk foods, such as breakfast cereals and flavoured yoghurts. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A nutrition expert says New Zealand should follow England and introduce a ban on deals for junk food.
England introduced a ban on multi-buy deals for unhealthy foods on Wednesday, extending across supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol stations and other retail outlets.
The ban is on volume price promotions, which includes multi-buy promotions such as 'three for the price of two', as well as promotions indicating an item or any part of it is free - as in 'buy one get one free.'
The ban spans a wide range of foods deemed unhealthy, from potato chips, pre-packaged pizza and crumbed fish sticks to ice cream, pastries and lollies.
The list also includes less obvious junk foods, such as breakfast cereals and flavoured yoghurts.
The government has also banned free refills on soft drinks as part of a plan to combat obesity, particularly in children.
Professor of population nutrition at Auckland University Boyd Swinburn. Photo: Supplied / Boyd Swinburn
Professor of population nutrition at Auckland University Boyd Swinburn told Checkpoint it was time New Zealand did something similar to deal with childhood obesity.
"England really have got a whole suite of policies, this is one that was released today, but they've got bans on TV advertising 9pm on junk food ads coming up... they've also got the sugary drinks levy... they've got a whole suite of policies lining up, one after the other to really get serious about childhood obesity.
"We're sort of acting like the placebo country, you know, where nothing happens."
Swinburn said England's move to ban the deals was a world first.
"It is government actually reaching inside supermarkets and telling them what they can and can't promote with these price promotions."
While he acknowledged the decision was strong, he said the problem was serious enough to warrant such action.
"This is just about trying to protect people from being exploited.
"What that does is promote over consumption of unhealthy food and the marketers and the supermarkets know exactly where the vulnerabilities of their shoppers are."
While Swinburn didn't support a full blown ban on the junk food, he said following England would have huge benefits for customers here.
"It's really just creating a bit more of a level playing field and giving the customers a bit of a chance.
"We haven't had anything for years and we're falling way behind countries like England and certainly behind a lot of Latin American countries that have multiple food policies around restrictions on marketing and front of pack warning labels restrictions on what can be sold and food in schools."
Swinburn said here, price promotions for unhealthy foods were around four to one to price promotions on fruit and vegetables.
He said it should be the responsibility of the state to make unhealthy foods harder to access.
"We've got rising obesity levels, I think it's the states job to give people a hand at helping to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
"If they're being targeted, as they are by the marketers and the supermarkets, and tempted into buying foods that they that are that are unhealthy and that they're gonna overconsume, I think it is a role for the state to step in."
Swinburn compared the restrictions to tobacco, such as price increases.
"I think we have to take the same set of principles to unhealthy food, they work. That's what people respond to, and they get better health outcomes."
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