Boyd Swinburn: Auckland University Nutrition Expert on the push for New Zealand to follow England in combating obesity rates

There’s been a push for New Zealand to follow England's lead in combating obesity rates. 

NHS figures suggest England's turned the tide on rising obesity rates for the first time in two decades. 

Obesity rates in adults have remained stable for the past five years. 

Auckland University nutrition expert Boyd Swinburn told Ryan Bridge rates will keep going up in New Zealand until something changes. 

He says we've been told by WHO and panels across the world on what to implement - but the country hasn't listened. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Obesity rates in England have stabilized for the first time
in two decades. The number of children who are overweight
has fallen to the lowest level since two thousand, while
obesity rates and adults have remained stable for the past
five years. It's raised the issue back here as New
Zealand still has the third highest adult obesity rate in
the world, with one in three adult New Zealanders over

(00:20):
fifteen years classified as obese and one in ten children.
It's just raised the issue here of what do we
do about it. Boyd Swinburne is the Professor of Population
Nutrition LCIN University. Boyd, good morning, good morning, thanks for
being with me. What is the UK doing differently?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well, it's interesting, you know, the UK have had nine
years of Tory government with quite a lot of chaos
with Rexit and rulers, prime ministers and so on. Despite that,
they have introduced a number of programs and policies and
things that do help to reduce childhood obesi. Whether that
all adds up to this flattening off and perhaps decline

(01:02):
as you say, but you know, they've put a sugary
drinks tax on several years ago, They've had the food
in schools and improving the quality of that. They have
just now introduced bands on junk food marketing to kids,
you know, one of the first in the world. So

(01:24):
you know, they they have been actually quite progressive in
their in their actions. Not the ban on junk food
marketing will have caused this change in prevalence of Obesian kids,
but you know they have been remarkably progressive throughout this
Tory government.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
What do you think is going to happen to us?
Are we're just going to keep getting fatter? Like when
when do we reach peak fat?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Or is it? Well, that's that's a good question. We're
we're slowly trickling up. This was a bit of a
bump up during COVID and and then it's then a
drop immediately after that. But we're going to keep bubbling
up until we do something about it. And this is
changes in the environment. I mean, we know what to do. Really,

(02:07):
We've been told by WHO and expert committees and panels
all over the world about the priority policies to implement,
but New Zealand just has not taken any of those steps.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Do you think we're getting smarter about knowing what we're
putting in our mouths. Apparently. I've read something the other
day about just how much ultra process food is in
our supermarket. I mean we know this by now, We
know that coke's bad, we know all this stuff, surely.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah. I don't think that the fall in childhood obesity
in the UK is because they've found the kids have
found some willpower or something like that, because there is
a tendency to blame obesity on the individual. But these
fluctuations in these global patterns, they're caused by changes in

(02:57):
the environment and particularly around old processed foods.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
But we can all have a choice, can't we. I mean,
we can be surrounded by myth or booze and not
do it.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well. We can, but what we're surrounded by makes it
easier or harder. And we're in creatures of our environment.
We respond to And you know, at the moment, we
don't even know what proportion of our diets are ultra
process food but government judging by other countries is probably
about fifty percent, you know. So these are the foods

(03:33):
that have driven up obesity around the world. So nobody's saying, Okay,
we're suddenly going to ban all ultra process foods. No
but let's get it down from fifty percent.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, it's not a great number, is it. Professor. I
have to leave it there. Thank you very much for
your time this morning, Professor Boyd Swinman Ultra Process.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
For more from News Talks, there'd be listen live on
air or online

Speaker 1 (03:56):
And keep our shows with you wherever you go with
our podcasts on radio.