One Coles customer shared on social media a video of junk food promoted at the end of the supermarket aisle and wrote, "No wonder we have a obesity epidemic!"
Jessica Lowe runs Happy Nutrition pages on Facebook and Instagram. She said she was "frustrated" by the supermarket's promotion of unhealthy foods.
"I can't believe all the promotion heads put so much trash in their heads!" The nutritionist wrote.
She said she walked around the supermarket before filming the 15-second video and couldn't find a healthy product at the end of the aisle.
"that's why obesity is prevalent in Australia and around the world!" She said. "to tell you the truth, I'm a little overzealous, but supermarket giants should be more ethical and stop frantically pursuing profits-if there's no health, there's no life to talk about!" These processed foods cut prices by 20%, 25% or even 50% because the food is junk, so even if supermarkets cut prices by 50%, they can still make huge profits! It's not expensive to put processed garbage in a box! "
She explained that she was not a "saint" and that it would be nice to have a snack once in a while, but she thought the mass of processed food that was everywhere was simply encouraging people to buy more.
Jessica says she is now a mother, which makes her more keen to share her advice, advocate a healthy lifestyle, eat a balanced diet, and prevent the next generation from being "brainwashing."
Some say healthy food is expensive. Jessica says it's a myth that the propaganda creates "the wrong excuse" for junk food.
The new mother said she and her husband spent only $500 a month on food and ate healthily-they simply bought fresh fruit and vegetables at the local or market level and then cooked their own meals.
"drinking soda is much more expensive than drinking water, and eating poor-quality food can make you feel unsatisfied, which makes you eat more because your body craves real nutrients. Real food! " She concluded.
"Coles has always strongly supported the health and well-being of the community by providing quality, service and value in our stores, as well as through partnerships with community organizations such as Little Athletics," a Coles spokesman said in a statement.
"during the 2017-18 Little Athletics season, Coles donated 2 million bananas to provide nutritious snacks for children during the competition."
A recent report from Deacon University's Global Obesity Center analyzed the nutritional value of its own branded products, nutrition labels, and junk food promotions and desserts at the cashier's counter in four major supermarkets in Australia.
The results showed that Woolworths scored the highest, followed by Coles, third and fourth were Aldi and IGA., respectively. "the vast majority of Australians buy food in supermarkets, and the way these stores are set up can seriously affect our buying behavior," said Gary Sacks, an associate professor and lead author of the report. However, he said, Coles and Woolies should not be complacent about beating IGA and Aldi.
He said: "the supermarket with the highest score is only 46 points (100 points), this is only a passing score, they have a lot to work on."
He says all supermarkets are responsible for people's unhealthy diets because their catalogs are full of calories and fat-rich foods.
It is commendable, however, that Coles and Woolworths have volunteered to comply with government's health star system, marking healthy stars on their products.