New Zealand's Obesity Epidemic
Authors: Erich Bachmann & Monica Choy, Hesketh Henry

The Government in it's latest budget has committed $76.1 million over four years to tackle New Zealand's growing obesity problem.  The Health Minister, Pete Hodgson said "If we take no action, we fact the very real possibility that the current generation of New Zealand children will be the first to die younger than their parents."

The budget commits $19 million a year to anti-obesity projects which will focus on initiatives with schools, primary healthcare groups, social agencies and the food industry.  The food industry is likely to be seeing tougher regulations prescribed for food advertising and nutritional labelling requirements.

Initiatives that are likely to be replicated as part of the anti-obesity project include McDonald's agreement with the Manukau District Health Board to sell only sugar-free Sprite Zero soft drinks at it's restaurants in the locality and a nation-wide rollout of a West Auckland school programme that would see soft drinks out of all schools by 2008. 

Many other projects and initiatives are currently in the pipeline.  Amidst growing calls for tougher advertising laws, what is likely to also soon be in the pipelines, is tougher advertising laws, particularly in relation to food advertising to children.