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Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

SocietyOctober 15, 2020

Obesity and personal choice: A response to Judith Collins

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

The National leader’s comments were rooted in political ideology rather than real-life experience, writes South Auckland nutritionist Mason Ngawhika, who believes the health of the community is a collective responsibility.

I know virtually no one who is satisfied with their current weight or body composition.

Meaning everyone I know is unable to take the personal responsibility to achieve their ideal. The comments that Judith Collins made likely have more to do with political ideology than actual real-life experiences. If you are rich, the right would say you are wealthy because you are extremely talented and hardworking and you deserve your wealth. The left-leaning may say the greatest talent that person has produced is being born into a wealthy family. Both views have some merit and form the political spectrum that most countries exist on. Aotearoa resides somewhere in the middle, Labour more to the left, National more to the right.

Are we just flotsam and jetsam blown around by the prevailing socioeconomic winds or are we the architects of our lives and despite the conditions, you can succeed? In Māori we say tāwhaowhao, which means driftwood – it’s a metaphor for having no locus of control or self-determination over your life. In Aotearoa, I tend to believe we are the latter. If you are willing to work hard and be consistent at what you do, you can eke out a good life despite your background. But when it comes to obesity, there are several variables at play that are often not considered, such as environment, psychology, and biology. 

South Auckland is flooded with fast food choices, Auckland Regional Public Health reporting shows (Photo: RNZ)

In South Auckland, there is a population that is predisposed to obesity, and we are saturated by unhealthy food choices. When you’re hammered by marketing of unhealthy food choices and when you’re poor, it is extremely hard to navigate. For some local families who are struggling, the only happiness they experience that day is eating something sweet or deep-fried, or having a cigarette. These are not the conditions where personal responsibility is a consideration. 

There is no more powerful innate urge greater than hunger. By satisfying your hunger, it enables all living things to survive. We’ve also got to understand that there are differences in the way people respond to food. For example, the way that fats and carbohydrates are stored in the body can be different for everyone. The hunger that some people feel three to four hours after their last meal can be the same for others just half an hour after a meal. Is this a failure of personal responsibility or the success of personal biology?

Mana motuhake (self-determination) and oranga whakapapa (intergenerational health and wealth) are the aspirational goals for Māori. These will not be achieved by personal responsibility; rather by a collective responsibility. In other words, the focus needs to be less on the individual but more on the community and its surroundings. When we treat the health of whānau and community as one, then personal responsibility is less of a factor.  

In a way, I agree with Judith Collins – we can never dismiss personal responsibility. We need to harness that latent drive that compels us to do better and improve our position in life. However, we need to recognise that some people have tailwinds that make it easier to achieve our aspirations, while others have headwinds that make it harder. This is what equity is all about: trying to even the playing field. 

Many of our South Auckland whānau are impacted by the rise of preventable chronic diseases. Here at The Cause Collective we look at the underlying causes of poor health and wellbeing, including nutrition and local food systems. We look at the different systems and environments that influence our behaviour towards being healthy as a community. This is only achieved when we work alongside communities, businesses, organisations, and agencies to create breakthrough solutions to disrupt the conditions holding the problem in place, and to prevent the problem being experienced by future generations.  

When I hear people say that obesity can be solved through personal responsibility, that tells me that they have no understanding of the multi-factorial dynamics at play. It is a simplistic view that offers no meaningful solution, especially for the most at-risk populations like those in South Auckland.

Mason Ngawhika is kaiārahi Māori, Māori responsiveness manager, at The Cause Collective, which looks for ways to improve people’s health for the prevention of chronic disease.

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(Image: Ezra Whittaker-Powley)
(Image: Ezra Whittaker-Powley)

SocietyOctober 14, 2020

From free fruit trees to cheaper tampons: What kids would do if they were PM

(Image: Ezra Whittaker-Powley)
(Image: Ezra Whittaker-Powley)

The judges have spoken: These are the best ideas for changing Aotearoa for the better, courtesy of some of our brightest young minds. Policy.nz’s Chris McIntyre introduces the winners.

Since Policy.nz launched in August, barely a day has passed without the parties announcing new policies. By our count, the parties have announced nearly 2,000 policies .

But the politicians aren’t the only ones with ideas. After putting out a call for submissions for the Policy idea competition, our inbox was flooded with ideas from students across the country about what they would do if they were prime minister. Today, we announce the winners as chosen by our panel of judges – featuring basketballer Steven Adams, former MP Professor Marilyn Waring, science educator Michelle ‘Nanogirl’ Dickenson, journalist Mihingarangi Forbes and Allbirds founder Tim Brown.

We challenged students to come up with creative ideas to address problems important to their communities, looking beyond what is currently proposed by the parties. Entrants were asked to consider the consequences of the idea, both positive and negative.

We had hundreds of amazing entries from around the country, from 10 to 18 year olds, from Northland to Southland.

Some suggested big infrastructure – building an environmentally friendly monorail between Invercargill and Picton, for instance. Others suggested funding their proposals through truly, um, innovative means – by selling Rēkohu/Wharekauri (the Chatham Islands), for instance (we think its residents might have something to say about that!).

Some ideas pushed the envelope far, far beyond anything currently proposed by the parties: one bold student suggested nationalising 20% of every company to avoid Covid stimulus debt, while another suggested a tax of 15% for people buying their third homes – arguably a bolder idea for addressing the housing crisis than any announced by the parties this election.

We heard ideas that, if implemented, could cleave the nation in two: making Auckland the capital city, or capping the voting age at 65, for example. (We may just agree with one of those ideas). Other ideas honed in on how we can make New Zealand a more equitable place for young people, such as creating gamer lounges around the country with high-RAM computers for kids who can’t afford gaming PCs. We love it.

Ultimately our judges had a tough choice on their hands. We thank all our entrants for their time and creativity, and encourage them to continue advocating for the ideas they believe in, even if they can’t vote just yet. We also thank Allbirds, Karma Cola and Unity Books for supplying us with prizes for our finalists, and Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and StudySpy for support for Policy for Schools.

And we congratulate our winners, provided without further ado along with judges’ comments, with full entries published below and at policy.nz/competition. The future of democracy in New Zealand looks bright!

Individual winner: Provide a fruit tree to every child starting school

Lily Cowen, Year 7, Northcross Intermediate

Judges were nearly unanimous in their praise for Lily’s idea to provide a fruit tree to every child on their first day of school, as a way to provide healthy food to kids, teach communities about nutrition and the environment, and reduce emissions. “Teaching youth about how to nurture is a great life lesson,” said Steven Adams, while Mihi Forbes described Lily’s idea as “simple, achievable, and clever”. Tim Brown, Marilyn Waring, and Michelle Dickinson all praised the policy’s impact on the environment, on nutrition, and on science education.

Group winner: Require large food operators to be present within certain districts

Kopi Laakaai Suasua and Vivian Alapae Satui, Year 10, Sir Edmund Hillary College

Kopi and Vivian’s idea speaks directly to challenges faced in Ōtara and communities around New Zealand without ready access to healthy food. Tim Brown highlighted that the policy directly tackles the dangers of “food deserts”: areas where the absence of healthy food providers limits options for (often poorer) families. The judges liked that the idea would have real impact, quickly: “meaningful, doable, immediate impact. Bottom up, local, and creative,” said Professor Marilyn Waring, while Mihi Forbes praised the focus on supporting families to eat healthier. “Very important for developing kids. Tu meke,” said Steven Adams.

First runner up: Stop taxation on menstrual products

Grace Straker, Sylvie Crowe, and Ruby Barton-Vivian, Year 9, Marlborough Girls College

Professor Marilyn Waring described Grace, Syvlie and Ruby’s policy as an “idea where implementation is overdue. Doable easily at point of sale, and won’t break the GST bank.” Judges liked the clarity of the idea: there is no confusion about what is and what is not a menstrual product, and the policy helps to correct a gendered imbalance in a very precise way.

Second runner up: Create a marine reserve around Port Waikato to protect Maui dolphins

Destin Spinka, Rui-Han Ong, Ruka Kambe, Christen Wong, Year 7, Northcross Intermediate

Maui dolphins are critically endangered, and “we need every idea to protect them,” said Professor Marilyn Waring. Judges liked the practicality of the protections, the clear link to impact, and the innovative presentation of the idea in Destin, Rui-Han, Ruka, and Christen’s video.

* * *

Individual winner: Lily Cowen, Year 7, Northcross Intermediate

If I were prime minister, I would make a policy that when you start school you get given a fruit tree that you can plant. There will be classes on how to plant it to support the family to get the fruit tree growing really well.

Why is this important? Some kids go to school really hungry because they don’t have enough food at home. Instead of just giving them one apple, over their years at school they can get lots of apples even over the school holidays. This also helps educate kids how to grow food for themselves and how important fresh healthy food is.

One negative is that they won’t get fruit straight away. Families might not know how to plant or care for a tree, or have the right equipment. To solve this, we’ll teach kids how to look after their tree.

Every year zero and year one class will have spades that the families can borrow for planting their tree. For people who live in apartments or deep in the city, I will create community garden spaces for each suburb for kids to plant their trees.

Trees help us clean up our atmosphere from carbon dioxide, making air fresh and clean for all of our people. This is a creative solution to help the hungry, help the environment and help our community learn about good nutrition.

Group winner: Kopi Laakaai Suasua and Vivian Alapae Satui, Year 10, Sir Edmund Hillary College.

We live in Ōtara where KFC, McDonalds, Wendys, Subway, Pizza Hut and the $1 scoop of chips are everywhere. The constant manogi and sight of deep fried meaai mean that a fresh apple or a salad are like an Ōtara mirage. Add the cans of V and the $1.50 bottle of cola and a healthy feed is hard to find.

We have no large supermarket in Ōtara. Having one would provide families with the opportunity to buy healthy food at an affordable price. Our community is eating itself into an early grave.

We would introduce regulations that require a large food operator to be present within certain districts. Districts could be defined based on local government areas, such as the area of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Board. The government could help subsidise supermarkets to lower their prices to make the healthy food more affordable.

I know some kids in my area who want to eat healthier. Healthy eating is a habit and to get us off the pies, chop suey and fizzies we need help.

When people eat unhealthily their food doesn’t provide them with the adequate energy they need to sustain themselves throughout the day. Unhealthy eating leads to health problems such as obesity and diabetes and the government then has to heavily subsidise the associated health-related costs. By eating healthy, we will save the health service in obesity- and diabetes-related costs.

Business owners who own fast food stores will lose money, and there will be fewer after school jobs at fast food restaurants. But there will be more job opportunities at supermarkets, lower food bills for families, and people will have choice.

First runners up: Grace Straker, Sylvie Crowe, and Ruby Barton-Vivian, Year 9, Marlborough Girls College

Second runners up: Destin Spinka, Rui-Han Ong, Ruka Kambe, Christen Wong, Year 7, Northcross Intermediate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48HZXEOIWg4

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