The weight debate - does obesity go beyond the individual?

A poor diet can lead to organs becoming enveloped in dangerous fat, which in turn affects the body's function. A body functioning below par leads to illness, which results in a poor quality of life and a possible early death. At the very least, substantial doses of medication and medical treatment are required to keep these ailing bodies going. It's depressing for the individual and costly for the masses. It's hardly an ideal situation.

Of course there are those who eat junk food as an occasional treat, and displaying grotesque images on such foods might ruin the experience of responsible indulgence. Food should be enjoyed, and even bad food can be enjoyed in moderation. But perhaps the pictures would remind us that moderation is the key.

Even if the government does decide to go ahead with 'shock-labelling', it won't effectively reduce obesity rates in isolation. As with most public health matters, we need a range of interventions to tackle the problem.

The issue of obesity is complicated - there are emotional, sociological and biological issues at play. While a sickening image might serve as a minor deterrent, it alone won't stop people from eating junk. Not to mention that what we eat is just part of the equation.

Finding the right combination of interventions though is the challenge. Furthermore, finding the money to fund these interventions is an even bigger challenge. But as shown by persistent smoking campaigns in Australia, it is possible to make a difference. Once upon a time everyone smoked. In fact, you weren't cool if you didn't smoke. Now you're more likely a social outcast. Will the tables turn on obesity too?

At the end of the day, it would be wonderful to say that people should be able to make their own choices about their health. But the unfortunate truth is that a good proportion of the population are making pretty lousy decisions when it comes to controlling their weight. And according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia, these lousy decisions are costing our country upward of $21 billion each year.

Making junk food visually unappealing through shock-labelling might not be the best way to tackle obesity, but we can't turn a blind eye to the cumulative impact it's having on society.

Regardless of whether food packets display pictures of yellowing visceral fat or cute fluffy kittens, it won't hurt to stop and think about the repercussions of ingesting the contents. It might just be for the greater good.