Wimmera Health Care Group has praised a State Government law change forcing large fast food chains and supermarkets to display the kilojoules in their prepared meals.
Community health nurse Nicole Miller said while some fast foods chains already showed the kilojoules in meals, the new law, which came into effect on May 1, means all large Victorian fast food chain restaurants and supermarkets now have to display the information to help consumers make their choice.
“The average fast food meal will often contain over half the kilojoules needed for the day. You may be eating far too many kilojoules without realising it,” Mrs Miller said.
“Kilojoule labelling will make it easier for you to make healthier food choices when eating out and taking away food and drinks.”
Mrs Miller said the labelling also had to include recommended daily intake of kilojoules to help people make an informed decision.
“The average adult daily energy intake is 8,700kJ so people will be able to see if they are picking a 4500KJ meal, that it is more than half of their recommended daily intake in one sitting,” she said.
“Our kilojoule requirements vary based on things like age, gender and physical activity, but a ball park figure is 8700kJ – the average daily intake for an adult.”
In Australia, we use kilojoules (kJ) to measure how much energy people get from consuming a food or drink.