Nutrition for Special Population: Strategies and Initiatives by New Zealand Government

This paper discusses the progress made by New Zealand government in implementing steps to ensure better health care provision, with a focus on reducing obesity in the population. It highlights various initiatives taken by the government to address the problem of obesity in both adults and children.

Running head: NUTRITION FOR SPECIAL POPULATION
NUTRITION FOR SPECIAL POPULATION
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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NUTRITION FOR SPECIAL POPULATION
Health care should be a priority in each and every country that hopes to develop
economically, socially and politically. A healthy nation is a moving nation towards development
in all aspect of life ( Todaro et al 2012 ). New Zealand as a country in 2004 through the public
health association came up with a work plan that was to help in strategizing in better health care
providence by the government. The association came up with steps that the government ought to
have followed in order to ensure that they give health care first priority. This paper will track the
progress made by New Zealand government in implementing the steps provided to them in 2004.
The document described about the framework for maintaining a healthy nation in terms of food
and nutrition.
Obesity is not only associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and other
chronic conditions such as diabetes. Obesity can also attribute to high health care costs related to
the obesity. The main focus of the paper was to reduce the obesity in the population. According
to Lal et al., (2012) International organizations have raised the awareness regarding the
increasing prevalence of the obesity towards the mortality of the patient. As stated by the new
report of OECD countries, severely obese people die each and every year. In accordance to these
the New Zealand government has taken up several initiatives to address the problem of obesity in
both the adults and the children (Malik et al., 2012). The government has established a child
hood obesity plan which included target interventions for the people who are obese, increased
support for those people who are obese. A health target was introduced from 2016, for detecting

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the obese children identified in the Before School Check (B4SC) program. It has been found that
the families that have improved access to the nutrition and activity programs showed promising
future in getting rid of the obesity. The healthy together Victoria is another prevention platform
that developed multiple strategies and policies for mitigating the childhood obesity in the adults.
It provided with a package of interventions against the population risk factors.
Another initiative that was taken is the healthy families NZ, which focused on the
creating a healthy community on the basis of proper nutritional assessment and the
implementation. Proper nutritional assessment involves the preparation of proper diet plan for a
healthy body. While discussing about the obesity or to be more specific childhood obesity, one
of the risk factors is includes the exposure to junk foods. In such a case the media plays an
extensible role in reducing the child’s exposure to obesity. In order to adhere to the position
statement of 2004, it is the media that can play a pioneering role in spreading awareness
regarding the avoidance of the fast foods and sweetened beverages. Several audio-visual
campaigns and social media campaigns have been raised to order to generate awareness in
obesity and healthy eating.
In spite of the improved access to the activity programs and the nutritional levels, the
reports published by the Ministry of Health New Zealand (2017) has highlighted that the one out
three adults residing in New Zealand who are above 15 years of age are obese. Experts are of the
opinion that with the advent of the concept of the globalization along with urbanization, that
overall dietary habits changed. People though are aware of the nutritional requirement of the
body are failing to implement in optimally in the own daily living process (Malik, Willett & Hu,
2013). Serra-Majem and Bautista-Castaño (2013) have further argue that increase in the
professional stress and work-load is restricting people from participating into physical activity.

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Increase in the mode of the secondary lifestyle have cause increase in the trends of obesity
among the adult population of New Zealand. Hence the present obesity campaign of Ministry of
Health in New Zealand (2017) is directed towards breaking the meals into small portion, taking
periodic break between long working shifts in order to break the prolong monotony of constant
sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, the Ministry of Health New Zealand has published physical
activity guide for adults along with the resources to re-structure the concept of healthy eating.
Apart from focusing over the adults and young adults, Ministry of Health New Zealand (2017)
has also set specific guidelines for managing the tendency of obesity among the children (2 to 5
years) and teenager. These guidelines are mainly directed towards the helping the children and
teenagers to be more physically active.
Thus from the above discussion it can be concluded that the 2004 Public Health
Association Position Statement of New Zealand though directed towards obesity management is
failing short to cope up with the entire scenario in the present day urban prospective. So the
obesity management under the context of 2017 must be directed towards proper social media
campaign, breaking the concept of sedentary life along with information of breaking the meals in
to small bites between short breaks.

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References
Lal, A., Moodie, M., Ashton, T., Siahpush, M., & Swinburn, B. (2012). Health care and lost
productivity costs of overweight and obesity in New Zealand. Australian and New
Zealand journal of public health, 36(6), 550-556.
Malik, V. S., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2013). Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy
implications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 9(1), 13.
Ministry of Health in New Zealand (2017). Obesity. Access date: 17th May 2018. Retrieved
from: https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/
obesity
Serra-Majem, L., & Bautista-Castaño, I. (2013). Etiology of obesity: two “key issues” and other
emerging factors. Nutricion hospitalaria, 28(5).
Swinburn, B., & Wood, A. (2013). Progress on obesity prevention over 20 years in Australia and
New Zealand. Obesity Reviews, 14(S2), 60-68.