Dentists back call for action on unhealthy food and drink

3 October 2019

Media release

Dentists back call for Government action on unhealthy food and drink

The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) is backing the findings of a recent report from Healthy Auckland Together.

“Sugary drinks are demonstrably a factor in both dental decay and obesity,” said NZDA sugary drinks spokesperson Dr Rob Beaglehole.

NZDA says the most vulnerable are most at risk and would prefer to see reduced access to sugary drinks at or near schools, as well as restrictions on advertising, marketing and price promotions, mandatory health ratings and sugar labelling.

“The worrying number to come out of this report is that overweight children are 30% more likely to have the worst grade of tooth decay.

“Overweight children are also 8% less likely to have healthy teeth and gums compared to normal weight children.”

NZDA says solutions are available, and are calling on the Government to take action.

“The Minister is wrongly trusting the food and beverage industry, as meeting with them hasn’t solved any of the issues we continue to highlight, while measures we have advocated to reduce sugary drink consumption haven’t been taken up,” concludes Dr Beaglehole.

The 2019 Healthy Auckland Scorecard

https://healthyaucklandtogether.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Resources/190920-infographic-Digital-HR.pdf

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