National food strategy needed to fix poor health and obesity epidemic

Unhealthy diets are responsible for about one fifth of all preventable ill-health and premature deaths but according to a new report, the Government has made virtually no progress on implementing healthy food policies in the last three years.

The report by a panel of more than 60 independent and government experts nationwide is calling for an overarching Food Systems and Nutrition Strategy to drive changes towards healthy, sustainable food systems.

Dr Sally Mackay, from the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, led the review of our food systems and nutrition. She says in health and environmental terms, our current food systems are our greatest liability but with a concerted national effort, they could be our greatest asset.

Dr Mackay says the Food-EPI study (Healthy Food Environment Policy Index) is the latest in a series first conducted nearly ten years ago. “Unfortunately, successive Governments have continued to fail to introduce food policies recommended by the World Health Organisation that would turn around New Zealand’s massive obesity and diabetes problems.”

The report finds that without the transformation of our food systems, the Government will be unable to fulfil its international obligations to the Paris Agreement on climate change and towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Without reform the panel doubts if progress can be made on Government priorities to lift child health and wellbeing, reduce inequities, and clean up polluted waterways.

The rating by more than 50 public health experts did show the Government performing well in some areas when compared to international best practice. Co-investigator Professor Boyd Swinburn of the University points to Ka Ora Ka Ako, the healthy school lunches programme, that has been expanded from 120 to approximately 944 schools.

Professor Swinburn says virtually no progress has been made since the initial 2014 Food-EPI assessment, with over half of the 47 indicators rated as ‘low’ or ‘very little, if any’ implementation. “New Zealand has an excellent opportunity to take the prevention of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases like diabetes, seriously but it needs action.says Professor Swinburn.

“At the moment, food-related policy is characterised by fragmentation, inaction, and insufficient focus on the health, environment and equity goals that food systems can achieve.,”says Dr Mackay.

“The voluntary approaches we currently have in place are clearly ineffective and inadequate. High priorities are for government regulation of the marketing of unhealthy food that children see, for all schools and early learning services to have healthy food policies, and for Ka Ora Ka Ako to be rolled out further.”