Editorial: Rein in use of sugar

Labour has outlined an anti-obesity policy at the party's annual conference.

Few people would argue the country doesn't have a problem with obesity - but just what is the Government, or wannabe governments, role in fighting it?

It seems Labour has jumped on the healthy eating bandwagon this week, with Labour's Health Minister Annette King setting out the anti-obesity policy at the party's annual conference this weekend.

It plans to make food manufacturers reduce the sugar content of processed food and use prominent labels listing how many teaspoons of sugar and salt are in a product. If Labour was in government, it would give a timeframe for industry to reduce sugar content in all processed food. Sounds good right? But there will be many who say it doesn't go far enough.

Here in the Lakes district we have more adults - and perhaps even more concerning, children - who are obese than the national average. In our region one in three adults is obese, one in 10 children.

Last year I interviewed Lakes District Health Board consultant physician and diabetologist Nic Crook who was "hugely" worried about the obesity epidemic - and said we should be too.

What alarmed me was that he said studies had shown even doctors were having a hard time picking out who was overweight these days just by looking at them. Heavier was now being seen as the norm.

Something has to be done - and while personally I don't believe Labour's proposals go nearly far enough, anything that makes it easier to understand just how much sugar is in the food has to be applauded.

Sure, people can read the labels on the back.

But seeing two teaspoons of sugar on the front compared with the rather arbitrary 10g on the back may be enough for people to stop and think. It's also an easy way to help kids understand the sugar that's in their food - and to learn to make healthy choices. There's plenty more that can be done - and has to be. At the end of the day it comes down to individual responsibility but surely the more information we can give people and the more awareness we can raise the better.

Equip people with the knowledge of what's really in their food with the hope it will allow them to make better choices. Something major has to be done soon. The risks are too high otherwise.