Ontario doesn’t need a junk food tax to fight childhood obesity, but should ban the advertising of such drinks and munchies to kids under 12, a new report says.

Taking aim at “high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, beverages and snacks,” the 63-page report to Health Minister Deb Matthews also wants to outlaw “point-of-sale” promotions and displays in stores — starting with sugar-sweetened drinks.

The report issued Monday wants all restaurants to post calorie counts for each item on their menus — measures previously proposed by the New Democrats and the Ontario Medical Association, along with the advertising ban.

Matthews acknowledged “not everyone will be comfortable” with the recommendations, which are likely to meet resistance from segments of the food industry.

“I’m sure it will spark a lot of conversation. That’s good,” she added, noting there has been a 70 per cent increase in obese and overweight children in the last 30 years.

Those kids are “very likely” to become obese adults, and the health system spends $4.5 billion a year treating related medical problems, including diabetes, making chronic conditions resulting from being overweight “a very expensive problem,” Matthews told reporters at an east-end school.

But she wouldn’t commit to implementing the recommendations without further study despite the fact the government has faced the same pressures before.

“I’m really worried,” said NDP health critic France Gélinas, who has sponsored private members’ bills on calorie labelling and an advertising ban in recent years.

“They cost nothing,” she told reporters at the legislature, where her Progressive Conservative counterpart, Christine Elliott, rejected the bans in favour of more education for children on healthy eating.

The Ontario Medical Association, which has also supported a fat tax, said it will work with Matthews and the food and restaurant industry to help fight obesity, which impacts one in three children.

While some restaurant chains have nutritional information available in pamphlets and on display boards for diners to read, not much is available on menus in Ontario, said Stephanie Jones of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, pledging to work with the government in reducing childhood obesity.

Recommendations in the report came in large part from interviews with parents, who complained about their children being influenced by what they see in stores and on television, said Alex Munter, co-chair of the report titled “No Time to Wait.”

“They don’t want to turn on the television and have their children bombarded by advertising,” said Munter, chief executive of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

None of the report’s 23 recommendations calls for a fast food or fat tax because “it’s not necessary yet to go there,” he added.

Other countries, particularly in Europe, have done so, and New York City’s ban on selling pop and other sugary drinks in large sizes above 473 millilitres takes effect within days.

Matthews, who appointed the panel nine months ago, said the goal is to reduce childhood obesity 20 per cent in five years.

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The fight against fat could take the same trajectory as the fight against tobacco, the use of which is now banned in public places and airliners, Matthews added.

“It’s not that long ago the same questions were being asked about smoking.”