With just days to go before voting closes, political discourse has taken a bizarre turn, writes Ben Thomas. If this year’s election campaign trail could be likened to a breezy summer getaway with your best friends (and in my judgment as a political expert, I believe it can be) then this week we reached the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Campaign grinds to the finish line, claims about overseas donations to NZ Public Party account, and scandal uncovered over single use plastic dumping. It’s almost over. The extended cut of the 2020 general election is winding down, with a massive advance vote already cast, and the … Read more
Body Mass Index (BMI) is particularly flawed as an indicator of health in children and ethnic minorities. So why do we still use it? In a new comment piece published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, registered dietician Lucy Carey argues that the use of the Body Mass Index in assessing children’s health is both … Read more
In a video filmed for a conference the health minister was scheduled to open but then withdrew from, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver implores David Clark to pass a sugar tax. Watch below. Following on from the dressing down he directed at the National Party for failing to attend a sugar tax symposium last year, … Read more
There is an enormous mismatch between the size of the damage caused by tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and the amount invested in preventing that damage. Dozens of professionals have formed the Health Coalition Aotearoa, which launches today, to tackle the issue, explains Dr David Galler. In 2014 the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and … Read more
Physiotherapist Ricky Bell pursued groundbreaking research into holistic approaches to obesity and Māori because that’s what his community needed… even if it meant his reputation as a fisherman had to suffer. Ngāti Hine rangatira Te Ruki Kawiti initially refused to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi, believing it would lead to further loss of land for Māori. … Read more
The debate about lunchbox shaming risks leaving us powerless to combat a far greater health emergency, writes public health consultant Victoria Mulligan. Dr Rebekah Graham last week called to end food policing and “lunchbox shaming”, claiming that it’s hurting our most vulnerable families. Her research uncovered the challenges that some families face in providing food … Read more
New research from the University of Auckland reveals startling disparities in the ways communities are targeted by junk food retailers. Don Rowe speaks to the study’s author, Professor Boyd Swinburn. A combination of political apathy and toothless local government is exacerbating New Zealand’s obesity crisis, a new study has found. We’re living in fundamentally unhealthy … Read more
Plenty of attention is given to the health implications of obesity, but much less thought is given to how a fat-stigmatising culture damages people – women especially. Why can’t all bodies, not just slim ones, be allowed to feel comfortable in their own skin, asks Catherine Trundle. This week a new report reminded us that … Read more
You wouldn’t trust an economist to give you a smear test. So is it reasonable to expect those working in health to grasp economics? But still we listen to sugar tax proponents who don’t understand how consumer taxes work, says the NZ Initiative’s Jenesa Jeram. This is the second in a two-part series presenting both … Read more
As obesity and diabetes rates continue their sharp upward rise, calls for a tax on sugary drinks are also on the increase. Today, in the first of a two-part series giving both sides of the debate, the Green Party’s Julie Anne Genter explains why she’s pushing hard for the tax. Let’s start with what we … Read more