Nelsonians slim and trim

Nelsonians are slimmer than the rest of New Zealand, with only one in 10 rating as obese compared with one in four in the rest of the country.

The OECD Health Data 2009 report released this month put New Zealand's obesity rate at 26.5 per cent in 2007, which makes us the third-fattest nation in the world behind Mexico and the United States.

However, a Nelson Marlborough District Health Board report shows that people are comparatively trim in the top of the south with just 12.2 per cent clinically obese.

The survey was conducted by the health board's Nutrition and Physical Activity programme (NPA), which was set up three years ago to fight obesity in the district.

Programme manager Helen Steenbergen believed much of the difference could be attributed to Nelson's lifestyle. "The people that live here make the most of the environment and a lot of people are able to access good quality fruit and vegetables." Nelson's statistics should set an example for the rest of the world.

"We have incredibly good health statistics. We believe Nelson-Marlborough can be the first district in New Zealand, and one of the first in the world, to turn around the obesity epidemic."

Others warn that New Zealand's poor results in the OECD report mean the Government's health priorities are incorrect.

National scrapped Labour's introduction of obesity and nutrition targets, such as the Healthy Food Guidelines, which banned fatty foods from school canteens.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said National would announce "a greater emphasis on the physical activity side of the obesity issue" when plans were finalised.

Health board primary and community general manager Peter Burton said changes in government policy wouldn't affect the NPA. "The promoting of positive nutrition policies is a really important part of what we do. It's the Government's prerogative to set the policy framework and that doesn't change [our] intent."

Nelson registered dietician Annette Nistor said the scrapped guidelines had been "walking the talk" and the Government needed to support obesity initiatives.

"We know about the food industry, we know about serving sizes. It's time to get serious about it. And we need everyone on board, not just a couple of companies, or a couple of DHBs we need everyone rowing the boat in the same direction if we really want to make an impact. We need to remember that obesity is one of the major concerns with chronic disease. Every individual can do something about it. And the younger we start the greater the impact."

The funding cuts were shortsighted, said Green Party health spokeswoman Sue Kedgley. She said there needed to be more early education of children in the principles of good nutrition.

"Victory Community Gardens, for example, is the most fantastic local initiative. It works on so many fronts because it gets kids interested in gardening and learning to grow and eat healthy food. To me that is exactly the sort of initiative we should have in every school in New Zealand. It's bizarre that the Government has removed obesity as one of the top priorities."

- © Fairfax NZ News