Weighed down

20 years of government action on obesity

Of all the areas in which our MPs are asked to take action on, obesity seems among the trickiest. Many health experts say it is well past time to make tough calls, like a sugar tax or bans on junk food advertising. ‘‘Big Food’’ argues food companies are doing their bit to push healthy eating.

It’s no wonder our governments have, at times, seemed weighed down by the task, as the array of initiatives over the past two decades shows.

Unhealthy funding?

One of the first moves to tackle obesity came in 2000, with Labour‘s New Zealand Health Strategy. It put improving nutrition and reducing obesity among 13 immediate health objectives. It was followed in 2002 by Healthy Action - Healthy Eating, a strategy to improve diets, increase physical activity and reduce obesity by providing more support to disadvantaged groups.

It was the Ministry of Health’s suggested ban on advertising junk food to children that created the greatest outcry, with the food industry slamming it as a ‘‘simplistic notion’’ and TVNZ threatening to cut programming.

Meanwhile, the Healthy Eating - Healthy Action plan came under fire in 2004 for skimping on funding as well as failing to tackle fast food advertising.

Health Minister Annette King also ruled out a ‘‘fat tax’’, saying she preferred working with the food industry on education. In 2004, King hailed the signing of the Health of our Nation accord. But, she warned regulations could follow if it did not succeed.

In 2006, soft-drink companies agreed to pull sugary beverages from all New Zealand schools.

Cool for school

Schools became a focus for Labour, with guidelines banning the sale of pies, chips and other junk food creating controversy when they were put forward in 2007. The Government also launched the B4 School compulsory health checks for 4-year-olds. In 2005, it started the Fruit in Schools programme to give healthy food to pupils at low-decile schools.

In the run-up to the 2008 election, Labour’s efforts to tackle obesity became a hot topic, with National accusing it of taking a ‘‘nanny state’’ approach to Kiwis’ food choices. Those ‘‘nanny state’’ fears were seen as in part responsible for National’s victory at the 2008 election. New education minister Anne Tolley soon scrapped restrictions on junk food at schools, saying teachers should not have to be ‘‘food police’’.

Tackling fat with fitness

Health Minister Tony Ryall removed goals to reduce obesity and improve nutrition from the Government’s health targets. Instead, the Government promoted physical activity, launching an $82 million KiwiSport initiative and cutting funding for nutritional initiatives.

Like King before him, Ryall resisted calls to impose taxes on sugary or fatty foods.

In 2014, Ryall unveiled Healthy Families NZ. Ten communities shared $40 million for initiatives like setting up play groups and dropping fizzy drinks at sports centres.

It received cautious praise from experts, who warned it should include regulatory action on junk food marketing and sugar taxes to truly work.

Fighting fat with stars

Jonathan Coleman replaced Ryall after the 2014 election. In 2015, Coleman unveiled the Childhood Obesity Plan, complete with 22 initiatives to help obese Kiwis and stop others becoming overweight.

A new childhood obesity health target aimed to send 95 per cent of Kiwi kids identified as obese at B4 School checks to a health professional for intervention.

Sports stars like Valerie Adams and Israel Dagg encouraged families to make lifestyle changes for their kids.

The Government also set up a new ‘‘Health Star Rating’’ system to rate food from 0.5 to five stars depending on its nutritional value. However, the system is voluntary.

During his time as Health Minister, Coleman has stood firm on the Government’s opposition to a sugar tax. He says the Government is keeping a ‘‘watching brief’’ on the evidence supporting overseas bans.

Where to from here?

The full effect of National’s obesity plan is still unclear.

A review of the Advertising Standards Authority’s codes for children, released in late 2016 as part of the plan, has recommended ‘‘an explicit restriction’’ on advertising occasional food and beverage products to children, but could yet face a vigorous challenge from the food industry. The other battle still being fought by nutritionists is for taxes on sugary and fatty foods.

Coleman has regularly drawn a line in the sand when it comes to a sugar tax, while even Labour has ruled out a tax.

Instead, more work with the food industry seems likely.

That is unlikely to sit well with obesity experts: Just last month, Auckland University nutrition professor Boyd Swinburn complained that the food industry had ‘‘largely ignored’’ a submission from academics and other experts on the advertising codes.

While experts like Swinburn argue for a heavier hand from the Government, Coleman seems likely to take a ‘‘business as usual’’ approach, carrying on with community initiatives.

And, should the halls of power take on a red hue after September 23’s election, Labour’s previous record in government shows it could struggle to fulfil its promise to crack down on food producers.

One thing’s for sure: The pressure to tackle Kiwis’ expanding waistlines will continue to weigh heavily on our politicians’ minds.