Obesity ‘inevitable’ study says, given circumstances

AUCKLAND: More than 40% of schools sell sugary drinks, more than 90% use unhealthy food for fundraising and during children’s peak television viewing time there are eight advertisements for junk food every hour.

Those are just a few of the findings of a study, released today and carried out over three years, that found New Zealand’s high obesity rates were inevit able given the prevalence of unhealthy food in communities.

New Zealand is already the third most obese country and recent research predicted two million New Zealanders would be obese by 2038.

Last year, 37% of school children were overweight.

The Auckland University study, ‘‘How healthy are New Zealand food environments?’’, found food composition, labelling, marketing and prices, food in schools and retail outlets created food environments that were predominantly unhealthy.

‘‘People choose their diets from the food environments around them and when these are dominated by unhealthy foods and drinks, it is no surprise that our overall diets are unhealthy and our obesity rates are so high,’’ Boyd Swinburn, who led the study, said.

Prof Swinburn was surprised to find food in schools was largely unhealthy given all the publicity about rising childhood obesity.

Within 500m of the school gate, there were an average of 2.4 takeaway or convenience stores and nine outdoor advertisements for unhealthy foods.

The marketing of junk food was just as bad.

The study found poorer neighbourhoods had three times as many fast food outlets and convenience stores, more advertise ments for unhealthy foods around schools and more shelf space devoted to unhealthy items in supermarkets.

Giving councils the power to regulate factors influencing community wellbeing, particularly near schools; encouraging schools to make changes; a 20% tax on sugary drinks; and a target for reducing childhood obesity would all have a significant effect on Kiwis’ health, Prof Swinburn said. — NZME