It's no secret that obesity, heart disease, and other preventable epidemics are on the rise. Despite the "war on obesity", Australians still eat too much of all the 'wrong' things.

It's no secret that obesity, heart disease, and other preventable epidemics are on the rise. Despite the "war on obesity", Australians still eat too much of all the 'wrong' things.

But it can be confusing to know just how much of certain foods we should eat to be healthy.

Health professionals can understand the Nutrition Information Panels on food packaging, but what about ordinary shoppers, especially the young, the old, and the ... unmotivated?

Dr Trevor Beard, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Menzies Research Institute, says Australia should adopt a "traffic light" system similar to one developed by the British Government and in place in some British supermarkets.

The simple system would show consumers at a glance what's healthy and what's not.

"Red is for food that is too high in fat, sugar, or salt. Amber is for food that can be eaten occasionally in moderation. Green is for "go!" - healthy foods that can be eaten in any amount," said Dr Beard.

"Too much fat and too much sugar makes people overweight, which can lead to type two diabetes. Too much saturated fat gives people heart disease and blood cholesterol problems, and too much salt can lead to hypertension which exacerbates the heart disease," Dr Beard said.

Dr Beard said more consumers need to be aware of the life-and-death battle that is being fought behind the scenes over food labelling.

"The dietary guidelines are tucked away in library shelves. If people had any idea and followed them they would be preventing obesity and type two diabetes, but no money has been spent promoting the guidelines," Dr Beard said.

"Traffic light labels sound so good that they have created uproar in Australia. They are too good - good enough to do severe damage to some of our biggest food companies. The food industry objects violently to putting "red light" labels on foods that are already selling well."

 "The outcome will be political. Consumers who want good labels will need to make their voices heard," Dr Beard said.

Dr Beard said that money spent implementing the system could save the medical system millions in the future.

For more information, visit the Salt Matters website.

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