Calls for tougher regulations to fight obesity

We all agree childhood obesity is a major concern in New Zealand and children’s health cannot be left to the market.  UNICEF’s annual Innocenti Report Card

has named New Zealand adolescents as some of the most overweight and obese in the rich world.. Professor Jim Mann says New Zealand’s governments have done “precisely nothing” for almost 20 years, while Kiwis die of obesity-related health issues. He.offers some practical suggestions for tackling this issue. These include:

1. Restrict advertising of unhealthy foods, particularly to children, and alongside this, overhaul the food labelling system
2. Introduce school-based food policies
3. Look at taxes on unhealthy foods.