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Leading Kiwi Businessman Takes On The Obesity Epidemic
10 March 2011
News release
Leading Kiwi Businessman Takes On The Obesity Epidemic
Leading Kiwi entrepreneur Tony Falkenstein is taking on the New Zealand obesity epidemic because he says the authorities aren’t doing enough to tackle the problem.
“NZ’s obesity rates are horrifying and rising – we used to be 7th fattest country in the world five years ago but now we’re third. Everyone knows it’s a big problem but no one seems to know how to fight it. The approach of the ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ is the wrong way round.
“Some of the obese patients in New Zealand cost the health service $1 million a year each and Otago University reports 19 people a day are being diagnosed with diabetes. It is far more cost effective to prevent such diseases than try and treat them later on.”
Falkenstein’s approach is to get more Kiwis drinking good old water. After starting a water cooler business for offices and factories two decades ago, more recently he has launched a unique service for homes called Aqua Cool.
“We provide free coolers to householders so all they have to pay for is the water they drink.
“The aim is to get people to change their habits. Instead of spending their hard-earned money on fizzy drinks, each can of which contains about 20 spoonfuls of sugar, they can fill up on good quality water at home for less than half the price. It’s healthier, cheaper and doesn’t rot their teeth.”
Falkenstein says he’s talked to health boards about providing at-risk patients with water coolers in their homes but the response was muted. “The reaction I got was it was all too hard, yet we now have Kiwi kids as young as 14 being offered weight loss surgery. It’s madness.”
He’s also horrified by a SPARC survey published last year which showed 14% of our 20 to 24-year-olds drank fizzy drinks seven or more times a week and 10% drank energy drinks five or more times a week. “The long-term implications of that are very worrying.”
Falkenstein offers three different types of water for the free coolers – ultra-filtered, NZ spring water, and ultra-filtered with Vitamin C.
Ends -
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