A bill giving the Government sweeping powers to combat obesity could lead to supermarkets being told where to place unhealthy food and restrictions on television advertising of junk food to children, critics say.

The Public Health Bill provides new ways for the Cabinet or the Director-General of Health to act against suspected causes of obesity.

Health groups are strongly backing the new provisions, but the advertising industry is lobbying politicians to amend the bill before it is passed.

National's health spokesman, Tony Ryall, yesterday labelled features of the bill as "nanny state gone too far" and said it could result in stores being told where to place items such as wine and cheese and restrictions on the sale of some products near schools.

It could also have implications for fast-food sponsorships.

"These are far-reaching regulations that have been sneaked into the bill with very little fanfare or explanation," Mr Ryall said.

"This is Helen Clark getting into your pantry."

In the first submission to a select committee considering the bill yesterday, a group of health organisations said it was urgently needed.

The Chronic Disease Prevention Peak Group - representing the Cancer Society, Diabetes NZ and the National Heart Foundation, among others - said it had conducted a phone poll of 401 parents and grandparents and discovered most were concerned about television advertising of food and drinks to children.

Professor Norman Sharpe told the committee that provisions in the bill that potentially restricted that advertising wouldn't fix obesity on their own but were a "significant piece" of the jigsaw puzzle.


Asked how long it would take to reduce child obesity if television advertising was restricted, Professor Sharpe replied: "It will take decades. But we need to pull out all the stops now and not wait for another decade to go by."

He said international experience showed voluntary codes and self-regulation for advertisers did not bring significant change for children.

And he dismissed suggestions the Government might order stores where to put items as "ridiculous".

But New Zealand Advertisers Association executive director Jeremy Irwin said industry self-regulation had been successful, and parts of the bill were unnecessary and written in an ambiguous way.

"There are a lot of very contentious points in it that we need clarification on," he said.