UK obesity rates stable: What can NZ learn from its success?

England's obesity rates are starting to stabilise for the first time in two decades, which begs the question, should Aotearoa look towards their oldest partner for help?

New Zealand has the third highest adult obesity rates in the OECD, with one in three New Zealand adults - over 15 years old - were classified as obese.

Another study found 68 per cent of Pacific adults are obese.

Auckland University’s Population Nutrition and Global Health Professor, Boyd Swinburn, spoke to William Terite on Pacific Mornings about what England's doing differently.

To start with, Swinburn said the United Kingdom has a different culture. Still, he added that they have also implemented policies that have not "seen any action in New Zealand".

"Even over nine years in a Tories government, they [brought] in a sugary drinks tax, they have worked with industries to reduce sugar in the food system, and they've now just brought in bans on junk food marketing," Swinburn said.

"They've had school food programmes for a long time and I think there's a general culture of trying to act in a public health way on this problem.

"We tend to have this idea that it has to do with individual responsibility, that it's 'lazy people', and the government has not stepped up to take leadership on this."

Over 50 countries have implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) like England, including Pacific countries such as American Sāmoa in 2001, Cook Islands in 2014, and Vanuatu the following year.

Swinburn said Aotearoa could take this route alongside regulating the "pervasive marketing" of SSBs, especially in digital marketing which is somewhat out of sight for parents.

"The UK's just brought in bans on that and I think we should be following suit."

Tapping into Pacific peoples or simply commercial commodification?

He said another major issue is Aotearoa’s commercial sector’s engagement in predatory behaviour in the poorest communities.

Recently, a fast food chain opened in South Auckland, in which the region has the most poorest residents comprised mostly of Māori and Pacific peoples.

“The community has no real say in it - if another fast food outlet wants to open next to a school, and the council [and] community doesn’t want it, well tough luck.

“The commercial enterprises triumph over everything unless it’s creating a huge amount of noise, or litter, or congestion, you can’t do anything about it even if it’s damaging kids’ health.”

Watch the full interview via 531pi's FB below:

Swinburn brought up the need to protect the Healthy School Lunches programme - Ka Aro, Ka Ako - which was a shared sentiment among other experts and Pacific advocates.

One in 10 children in New Zealand is determined obese, where a Ministry of Health report found Pacific children (27.8 per cent), Māori (21.7 per cent) and children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (26.4 per cent), were most likely to be obese.

"This current government has chopped back on its budget enormously," Swinburn said.

"Getting healthy food into kids, teaching them what healthy food is all about by including it in the lunch - these things are all positive for healthy diets for kids.

"There's a bunch of other things and really we haven't moved on them.

“We need to re-write the rules so that communities have a much greater say in what happens in their neighbourhood.”