Barbara Stewart MP
Spokesperson for Health

1 March 2013

More Measures Required To Tackle Diabetes

New Zealand First says our fast-food mentality and over-consumption of sugary drinks must be tackled if we are to reverse an impending diabetes epidemic.

Health spokesperson Barbara Stewart says a University of Otago study which found 19 per cent of Kiwis over the age of 15 had a glucose metabolism disorder which often leads to diabetes made for grim reading.

“The terrible statistics in the report are a clear warning that urgent action must be taken to curb the impending explosion in the rate of diabetes.

“We need to change our take-away mentality, our obsession with sugary drinks, and get tough on companies loading fat and sugar into food and drink products.”

Mrs Stewart says more preventative diabetes measures are also urgently required.

“Green Prescriptions are a good start but are not the full answer.

“There needs to be a full national strategy to tackle our burgeoning obesity and diabetes epidemics, including a national diabetes screening programme.

“The cost of establishing coordinated strategies and screening programmes would quickly be recouped through the massive health savings it would generate,” says Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>