Unhealthy diets are a leading risk factor for obesity and non-communicable disease. Food choices are made within the context of people’s social circumstances as well as the broader food environment, which is shaped extensively by food and beverage industry practices, which include market, financial and political activities undertaken to increase the sale and consumption of highly processed food and beverages. This perspective paper argues that to reduce the burden of unhealthy diets, there is a clear need for government-led action to disrupt the balance of power that currently favours commercial interests over public health.