It's all those pies!

I'm not sure if US fast food portions are bigger than the UK's - I didn't go to burger stands when I visited your fair islands.

I would say that portion size in general is a lot bigger in the US. One meal over there, I thought I would be safe in ordering a pastrami sandwich. In the end I took half of it out in a doggie bag and had it the following day. I had never seen so much meat!. Same with a piece of cheesecake, it was about twice what you would get in a restaurant here. That was NY and Dallas I was in.

However the one fast food place I went to - I found the portion to be about the same as the UK

Hi MB,
you never cease to amaze me with the smilies etc, that appear with your postings.
I wonder, do you have a hot line to the GOD OF SMILIES?
They always promote a smile on my face.
Thanks.

So you managed to summon up the courage to venture into the Coffee House, where anything goes. Well done! I?m particularly chuffed that you find the smilies amusing. (I?m sure I just heard Stevey groan). Certain people on here reckon it?s a sign of my deteriorating mental state , but really it?s just that they are jealous of my command over Smiliedom. It?s purely my way of bringing some colour and movement to the forum (being an arty crafty sort of person). When I first got hooked on smilies, the forum was IMO a very drab grey colour, so I set about trying to brighten it up a bit. It looks a lot better now in its new livery, but I still like to throw the odd few smilies in to liven things up.

The whole sad tale (or some of it, at least) can be found here if you get desperate enough over the weekend to need something dire to read. It starts off innocently enough, but you can see, as it progresses, that I?m not alone in my fondness for smilies and then, basically the whole thread dissolves into utter silliness. You have been warned.

* It's those pies again!

Kiwi food causes weight gain, says expert
03 April 2006
By KELLY ANDREW

The Government must make healthy food more affordable to avert a mounting obesity problem, an international expert says. Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force and a former chief food safety adviser to Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, met Health Minister Pete Hodgson, doctors and Maori health groups last week. He said there was an enormous and out of control public health crisis relating to being overweight. "The problem has been you have always assumed if anyone gets fat it's their own problem. But actually it's the poorest people who are fattest and have the biggest difficulties with diabetes."

The food industry was selling food in larger quantities and with a higher fat and sugar content, and fruit, vegetables and grains had become less affordable. "You've manipulated, with Government approval and huge grants in the past, the whole of the industry, and the way in which you work, and live, and the foods you serve up in New Zealand are beautifully designed to guarantee that most people are putting on weight."

Maori and Pacific Island communities were particularly at risk, with many being struck by type 2 diabetes at a younger age and having obesity rates on a par with the United States, he said. Ten per cent of New Zealand children and 21 per cent of adults are obese, and health experts estimate 1.5 million Kiwis can be classed as overweight or obese. Type 2 diabetes is directly related to a high-fat diet and excess weight, and its incidence is increasing.

Professor James said if nothing was done, hospital services would eventually not be able to cope with the number of casualties from the obesity epidemic. It was not enough to tell people to change their diet. The Government should change food pricing so that unhealthy foods were more expensive and "good" food was cheaper.

Government departments and other organisations supported by the Government should be required to provide high quality, healthy food to staff. Policies and regulations should be introduced to protect children, including restricting advertising of unhealthy food, and preventing schools selling soft drinks, chocolate, and other junk food.

Mr Hodgson agreed that action on obesity was urgently needed. Success would come from community and family measures, such as walking buses for children and "green prescriptions" for exercise from GPs. The professor was in New Zealand for five days before leaving to attend a World Health Organisation conference in Fiji.

Busy Kiwis board roast dinner gravy train
09.04.06 4.00pm
By Catherine Woulfe

Forget fish 'n' chips. The new Kiwi favourite is takeaway roast dinners. But the good old meat-and-three veg is not as wholesome as you might think.

Kathy Fouhy, a dietitian from Nikki Hart Dietitians, agreed takeaway roasts were becoming "the new thing". But, although a roast meal provided vegetables and important protein, iron and carbohydrates, it also packed a 613-calorie punch. "For the average New Zealander, that's too many calories in a meal. And 27 grams of fat? That's way too high."

Ms Fouhy said roast meals were still healthier than fish and chips, which were twice as high in fat but provided little nutrition. "The problem is the perception - because people think they're getting meat and three vegetables, the perception is roasts are healthy." A healthier meat-and-three option would be an eye fillet steak, baked potatoes and vegetables. "That whole meal is less than 10g of fat. This [takeaway roast pork] is almost three times as much." Or, if you had an otherwise healthy diet and just couldn't resist the odd roast, you should limit yourself to one every fortnight.

Auckland now boasts 43 specialist takeaway roast restaurants. Owners say their meals are cheap, easy, and popular because no one has time to cook their own. Matthew Rudez and his partner set up Marco Polo Roasts on Dominion Rd in Sandringham two years ago. They sell 350 roast meals each night. "It has picked up. We're about 20 per cent up on this time last year. That's a fair whack of an increase."

ACNielsen figures show one in three New Zealanders opted for takeaways at least once a week. However, Kiwis lead the world in consuming healthy takeaway meals, with Subway the most popular choice in 2004. So why then are takeaway roasts proving so popular?

Mr Rudez put the trend down to "good food, good flavours, service and portions" and said although chicken, beef and lamb were popular, pork "always cleans up". Michael Mei, owner of Angelo's Roasts in Massey, said there were three new roast shops within 3km of his shop. "It's newer than fish and chips and Chinese takeaway. Most people like roast pork, but I think New Zealanders, maybe they just like to eat meat. And potatoes."

Perhaps this is why they're so strict with us and our BMIs. They don't want to add to the problem. It's a wonder they haven't stopped smokers from entering NZ, as they could also cause a problem with the overburdened health system if they developed chest problems.

Half of Kiwis overweight or obese - report
15 May 2006
By HAYDON DEWES

If you are not overweight, the chances are your best mate is. More than half of New Zealanders are classified as overweight or obese, according to fresh evidence contained in a Health Ministry report released yesterday.

The report, An Indication of New Zealanders' Health 2005, says 34 per cent of New Zealanders over the age of 15 are overweight, and 20 per cent are obese. Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the alarming statistic showed that the obesity epidemic was New Zealand's most pressing public health challenge.

'A lot of people have been looking for a crisis in health. This is it. One in five New Zealanders are obese and we can only begin to imagine what that will mean for the future of the health system.'

The report says men are more likely to be overweight than women, and that Pacific people have higher rates of obesity than other ethnic groups. For Pacific men the rate is one in three, climbing to one in two for women. One in four Maori are obese.

Mr Hodgson told a Diabetes New Zealand conference on Saturday that 11,000 New Zealanders died each year from food-related conditions. Public Health director Don Matheson told Parliament's health select committee last week it was hard to gauge the effectiveness of Government intervention to lower rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes because there was little evidence available to determine progress.

The Government is reluctant to use regulation to force change, instead trying a 'hearts and minds' campaign first, but has not ruled out legislation. The select committee meets again on Wednesday to begin hearing the 280 submissions it has received as part of its inquiry into the causes and effects of obesity and type-2 diabetes.

Survey of NZ preschoolers finds obesity timebomb
Tuesday June 6, 2006
By Martin Johnston

Preschoolers are being fed too many muesli bars and soft drinks and not enough bread, fruit and vegetables - a diet that could influence their eating habits for life. A new survey by Auckland and Massey University researchers casts light on a little-studied area, the food consumption of 3 1/2-year-olds. It presents a grim prognosis for New Zealand's obesity rate, given the research suggesting a lifetime's eating habits are established in childhood.

The study of 549 Pakeha preschoolers, published in the current edition of the NZ Medical Journal, suggests many children are going short on breads and cereals, topping up instead with high-energy products such as chips, muesli bars and cordial. Just over a quarter of the sample ate the recommended two or more servings of fruit a day, and just over half ate the recommended two or more servings of vegetables. Only 7 per cent ate enough breads, cereals, rice and pasta. Twelve per cent ate treats such as muesli bars and potato chips - which tend to be high in sugar and/or fat - three or more times daily.

New Zealand's recommendation is that these foods be eaten only occasionally while Australia's more-prescriptive guidelines state a maximum of one or two servings a day. The authors say that because the study sample was of higher-than-average socioeconomic status, their findings were likely to be conservative. 'The proportion of children in the general population eating fruit, vegetables, breads and cereals at recommended levels is likely to be lower than reported in this study.'

The NZ Children's Nutrition Survey in 2002 - covering children aged 5 to 14 - found that 21.3 per cent were overweight and 9.8 per cent were obese. Among adults, 35 per cent were overweight and 21 per cent obese in 2003. The adult obesity rate has more than doubled since 1977 and is predicted to increase further.

The researchers for the latest study, including paediatrician Professor Ed Mitchell, say it is worrying that nearly a quarter of preschoolers in the study drank soft drinks three or more times a week. 'Limiting the consumption of these drinks in preschool children may be important, given the increasing rates of childhood obesity.' Nearly a quarter took vitamin and/or mineral supplements, despite the recommendation that supplements should generally not be given to children.

But not all the statistics are gloomy: 88 per cent ate meat, fish, eggs or chicken at least daily, and 86 per cent consumed dairy products or milk at least twice daily - in line with Health Ministry recommendations. Massey University nutritionist Professor John Birkbeck said last night that the figures overall were of great concern. 'It just shows that the patterns that we are so unhappy about in school-aged children and adults are being set very early. The big challenge is to try to do something about it.'

Otago University nutrition expert Professor Jim Mann said the figures on soft-drink consumption were the most striking, 'given the epidemic of obesity we've got on our hands'. He said there was strong evidence obesity 'tracks from the earliest age' and reasonable evidence that bad eating habits learned in childhood were more difficult to get rid of.

The Government last month committed $19 million extra a year for anti-obesity projects.

Mind you I wouldn't think it was the pies to blame in NZ - the two we tried were foul soggy pastry, tasteless type things, I certainly wouldn't want to eat too many of them.

Someone obviously thought they were OK.

City stops for the steak and onion special
07 July 2006
By NICK CHURCHOUSE

A train driver brought Wanganui to a standstill when he could not get enough pies for lunch.

State Highway 3 traffic was backed up in both directions at a crossing on Victoria Ave and London St when the driver stopped the single engine in the middle of town to get his daily fix.

The driver had a habit of stopping at The Big Bite takeaway shop in London St while taking the engine across town, but when he had to wait, so did Wanganui.

After picking up six pies on Monday, the driver told staff he would be back for more the next day. However, when he arrived there were not enough of his favourites – steak or steak and onion – ready to go. 'He had to wait for a while while we warmed them up in the oven, because he wanted 10,' staff member Janine Hart said. 'That was what the holdup was.'

The train had activated the barrier arms on the crossing and traffic was left waiting for about 20 minutes. One woman had to pay twice the normal taxi fare due to the traffic jam.

Residents and motorists could see the funny side of the incident, but were not impressed with the train driver's attitude.

Toll NZ spokeswoman Sue Foley said the company was investigating the incident.

She was unable to say if the train driver had been stood down, but Toll would certainly be speaking to him.

Call to cut GST on fruit, vegies
17 July 2006
By KAMALA HAYMAN

The nation's largest health board wants GST on fruit and vegetables scrapped, a fat tax on junk food, and an annual weigh-in for primary school kids.

The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is calling for a new obesity taskforce for tough action to combat the obesity epidemic, criticising current resources as 'grossly inadequate'. It says the implementation of the Health Ministry's action plan Healthy Eating – Healthy Action (Heha) as 'fragmented and haphazard'.

In a hard-hitting submission to the health select committee's enquiry into obesity and type 2 diabetes the health board criticised the lack of structure, leadership and vision around nutrition and physical activity.

It said New Zealand was following trends which in the United States and New South Wales had seen the number of children with type 2 diabetes – largely obesity-related – double in just five years. These children could suffer kidney failure, blindness and heart disease as early as their mid-20s.

The cost of treating these and other obesity related diseases cannot be maintained,' said the health board. 'Only by reversing the trend in obesity can we hope to contain this epidemic.' It has called for an obesity taskforce to research, develop, manage and monitor a national approach to obesity.

The CDHB said such a taskforce should investigate scrapping GST on fruit and vegetables with research showing that fruit and vegetables and lean meats were 'consistently the most expensive and proportionally the main contributors to food costs'. The health board also suggested an investigation into a 'fat tax' on unhealthy foods.

Junk food and its marketing should be banned in schools, said the CDHB. There were concerns schools had become 'retail fronts' for businesses, with vending machines and chocolate fundraisers.

An obesity taskforce should also consider yearly weigh-ins of all primary school children by their GPs 'because many parents of overweight/obese children do not realise that their children are outside the healthy weight range'.

Robyn Toomath, a diabetes specialist and spokeswoman for Fight the Obesity Epidemic, said removing GST from fruit and vegetables was 'incredibly obvious' with considerable evidence to show price could change behaviour. 'Financial incentives have been greatly overlooked in terms of their potential.'

A fat tax may not only influence consumers but also manufacturers to produce healthier food. She called for regulation to force schools, industry, advertisers and others to achieve goals under the Heha strategy.

Health Minister Pete Hodgson said he agreed with the CDHB that more needed to be done. 'We have underestimated the importance of overweight and obesity and all of its effects.'

Good idea. In California, groceries are not taxed, but 'prepared foods' as from a restaurant are. I hadn't considered GST when we were in the NZ grocery stores and comparing costs with home. That's definitely a factor in their cost being so high.

I recall once when I was a teenager, and wanting a snack. So I went to the grocery store and bought an apple. The elderly lady behind me in line smiled in approval of my choice, but tisked that a single apple would cost all of 13 cents. I figured it was a better deal than a 10 cent candy bar.

Unhealthy foods get chop from tuck shops
Friday September 22, 2006
By Martin Johnston

Unhealthy food will be banned from school tuck shops next year under policies designed to help control a worsening obesity epidemic. Pies, sugary soft drinks and chips face the chop under the policies unveiled yesterday. They also aim to cut TV watching and encourage more physical activity.

Underlining the policies' significance, five Government ministers lined up to announce them at the Aotea Centre alongside the World Health Organisation's week-long Asia-Pacific regional meeting.

Main changes will be:

* Development of national nutritional guidelines for schools and early childhood centres. These will identify food and drinks in three categories - suitable for everyday consumption and to be promoted, for limited provision during the school day and not recommended to be provided.

* Enforcement of the guidelines by school boards, to be audited by the Education Review Office.

"It essentially is a banning," said Education Minister Steve Maharey. "The guidelines mean that something like the high level of sugar, salt and fat on the shelves of some schools won't be able to be there in future."

Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the three-tier classification system was yet to be developed but could be the "traffic-light" system of red, orange or green labels now used in Europe. This could later be applied to the country's whole food supply. He expects the new school system to be operating by the start of the next academic year.

The regulations will require school boards "to develop policies that promote and achieve healthy nutrition and reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks". They will also apply to children's lunch boxes although, unlike for canteens, schools will not be expected to "achieve" healthy foods. The requirement will be to have policies on bringing healthy food and drink.

"We're not policing what goes into a [lunch] box," said Mr Maharey. "It's really about trying to develop a good, positive lifestyle that kids will want to live, not brow-beating them into not having a cookie now and again."

The nutrition guidelines and regulations are among 10 schemes announced yesterday in a $67 million attack on obesity. It is part of the $76.1 million committed in this year's Budget for anti-obesity work over four years.

Others are nutrition training for teachers, guidelines - yet to be written - on food advertising to children, expanding the Push-Play social marketing campaign to promote "screen-free" time, encouraging public servants, including at the Ministry of Health, to lead by example in being more physically active and using music, screen and sport stars to promote healthy choices to young people.

The Government is worried about a blow-out in public health system costs from the escalation of obesity-caused type 2 diabetes, a problem which may mean the current generation of children will live shorter lives than their parents. The adult rate of obesity has more than doubled since 1977 - 21 per cent are now classified as obese, a further 35 per cent as overweight. Among children, 10 per cent are obese and 21 per cent are overweight.

Principals Federation national president Pat Newman said schools supported improving nutrition and many were doing so - most primary schools had removed sugary soft drinks - but he objected to the Government forcing nutrition rules on schools and to the lack of consultation.

"Before [this] we could do as much as we can; now we're legally the meat in the sandwich."

The Food Industry Group's executive director, Rob Bree, said it was involved in developing the school food classification system and doubted the Government would ban any food.

Greens health spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said the school nutrition policies were "a great start in transforming school food".

Junk-food ban in schools leaves nasty taste for some

Ashleigh Webster and her friends don't see the sense in banning unhealthy foods from schools.

"I think it's dumb," the 15-year-old Auckland Girls' Grammar School student said yesterday. "It's our own choice really. It's up to the school if they want to let us eat unhealthy food. "I get enough healthy food at home. I normally bring lunch - a sandwich of salad and meat, fruits, something that's not healthy to balance it out, like a muesli bar or chips."

Ashleigh sometimes buys a pie on the way to school, which is cheaper than buying one at school. But older pupils Rachelle Peterson, 18, and Jacquelyn Myocevich, 17, can see good reason for removing unhealthy foods such as pies.

"All those studies show fat food makes you tired," said Jacquelyn. "Eat fruit and it will make you more enthusiastic about going to class for the last two periods rather than going home to sleep. Our cafe has a lot of variety. Salads. Sandwiches. We have more healthy food available than junk foods. We have pies."

Sandwiches cost more than $3, she said, and pies $2. Rachelle: "If someone has got $2 they will buy whatever is cheaper, which is the pie."