Wake Up Call On Child Obesity

“The revelation that children may die before their parents because of the obesity epidemic hitting New Zealand’s children should ring alarm bells in homes and schools,” said New Zealand First’s spokesperson for family affairs, Barbara Stewart.

“The possibility of overweight children developing conditions which could lead to their early deaths was highlighted in a recent British medical report and there is no reason to suppose that our children are not similarly at risk,” said Mrs Stewart.

“Introducing healthy choices for children at fast food outlets is a step in the right direction but increased education of both parents and children would be of more value in the long run.

“The constant barrage of television advertisements for fast food and sweets aimed at children is also a problem that needs to be addressed.

“Parents have the biggest influence on what their children eat and education programmes should be targeted at adults as well as children with an emphasis on nutrition and exercise in schools.

“For some children this could be a matter of life or death,” said Mrs Stewart, “I also wonder what happened to good, healthy home cooking.

“Is this a forgotten art?”

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