2014/15 NZ Health Survey
Lots of interesting data in the latest NZ Health Survey. Some changes from 2007 to 2015: Smoking rate down from 20.1% to 16.6% 15 to 17 year old smoking rate down from 15.7% to 6.1% Maori smoking rate...
View ArticleAn own goal for Morgan Foundation
Geoff Simmons at the Gareth Morgan Foundation has a triumphant post declaring: Last year the Taxpayers Union launched a research report claiming that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages wouldn’t have...
View ArticleHow long until there is a milk tax!
The Telegraph reports: People should halve the amount of dairy foods they eat, the Government’s dietary adviser has said in a radical move to cut obesity. Public Health England (PHE) says men should...
View ArticleA misleading petition
A sugar tax petition states: New Zealand has a problem. We are the third fattest nation in the world. This is not true. The WHO database for Obesity is here. We are 29th, not 3rd. Outrageous that a...
View ArticleNo individual responsibility
Stuff reports: Auckland doctor Robyn Toomath spent years telling her diabetes patients to lose weight only to have them fail despite their best intentions. Eventually she stopped altogether and her...
View ArticleBig food companies are saying eat less
USA Today reports: After spending years trying to convince consumers to buy more of their famous-name products, now some of the biggest players in the food industry are trying to get people to eat less...
View ArticleSoda sales soar in Mexico after sugar tax!
The WSJ reports: Sales of soda are climbing two years after Mexico imposed a roughly 10% tax on sugary drinks … Purchases, however, are rising in Mexico after an initial drop, making the country a...
View ArticleAll about calories
The Herald reports: Low-fat diets and exercise are pointless for those wanting to lose weight and obese people should simply eat less, a leading surgeon has said. Portion size is key. It is as simple...
View ArticleNow they want to ban investing in companies they don’t like
Radio NZ reports: More than $260 million of taxpayers’ money is invested in fast-food brands and soft drink giants. Obesity campaigners say they’re appalled at the investments by bodies such as the...
View ArticleGot healthier on pizza
Stuff reports: What better way to restore myself to peak physical condition than to hit the gym hard while devouring an entire pizza every day? With a whopping 1600 calories and a decent chunk of...
View ArticleNow they want to ban fast food from a shopping mall!
Stuff reports: The Christchurch City Council will investigate ways to limit unhealthy food outlets setting up shop close to schools. More of this madness. A map in Auckland showed that if you banned...
View ArticleIrish journal fact check on sugar taxes
The Ireland Journal fact checks claims about sugar taxes. They find: Claim: Taxes on sugary drinks have not achieved their public health aims Verdict: Mostly TRUE There is some evidence that the tax...
View ArticleBalanced?
A lengthy article in Stuff on obesity resembles propaganda more than balanced journalism. 95% of the article just repeats assertions by public health activists who want a sugar tax, and no one with a...
View ArticleLabour looks like it favours a sugar tax
Stuff reports: Labour is apparently close to endorsing a tax on sugary drinks – with health spokeswoman Annette King saying there is growing evidence and support for such a measure. Once again Labour...
View ArticleHomeless prefer pies!
The Herald reports: An Auckland vegetarian cafe were shocked when the Auckland City Mission declined their offer for free, healthy food. But Auckland City Mission says declining the deliveries was a...
View ArticleLost 8 kgs in a month from “unhealthy” pies
Stuff reports: A Christchurch man lost eight kilograms in a month living on pies and beer. Julian Lee, a reporter for Newshub, became slimmer after four weeks pioneering the pie and pint diet. Lee ate...
View ArticlePress urges Council to break the law
The Press editorial: There is no escaping those increasingly tall, garish signs highlighting the location of fast-food chains now spreading across urban New Zealand. Are they spreading? What is the...
View ArticleThe Cuban solution to obesity
The Washington Post reports on how Cuba is a model for the world in reducing obesity rates. It was simple: In the 1980s, thanks to Soviet agricultural support, most Cubans consumed 3000 to 3200...
View ArticleMaybe we don’t have a sugar tax because they don’t work?
The ODT reports: The food industry in Australia and New Zealand has managed to hold off near-universal calls from public health experts for government to crack down on junk food and sugar through its...
View ArticleFinally a great cure for obesity
Frances Martel reports: A poll released this week among Venezuelan nationals found that 75 percent of Venezuelans reported losing “at least 19 pounds” in 2016, while 93 percent of Venezuelans said they...
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