Barbara Stewart MP
Spokesperson for Health

16 OCTOBER 2015

ANOTHER HEALTH PLAN BUT NO ACTION ON OBESITY

New Zealand First says the government’s newly announced diabetes plan does nothing to tackle obesity, which is the top predictor of people at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

“Diabetes will continue to be a major health issue in New Zealand unless Health Minister Jonathan Coleman takes action to reduce New Zealand’s obesity rate,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Barbara Stewart.

“Currently the government is relying on voluntary measures from the food industry around marketing and sugar reduction to deal with New Zealand’s obesity epidemic.

“Relying on the food industry to self-regulate is not good enough when over 1.2 million Kiwis are overweight, and 250,000 New Zealanders already live with diabetes.

“The solution is to change peoples’ diets and food choices. Removing GST from healthy foods will encourage New Zealanders to choose healthier lifestyles.

“The government needs to legislate to tackle obesity head on. Until then diabetes will remain a substantial health challenge for the whole country,” says Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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