Study links diets, catalogues

Sydney: The poor eating habits of many Australians appear to mimic supermarket catalogues, filled with too much junk food and soft drinks and not enough fruit and vegetables, a study has found.

Over seven weeks, researchers at Cancer Council Victoria for the LiveLighter campaign analysed weekly catalogues from supermarket chains Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA.

The analysis showed on average 4% of all items advertised in supermarket catalogues were fruit and vegetables.

By contrast, discounted junk food items and sugary drinks made up 44% of advertising in Coles catalogues.

Woolworths and IGA did little better, with junk foods and sugarladen drinks taking up 25% of the advertising space, followed by Aldi at 8%. — AAP