Lisa Te Morenga, EDOR researcher, Rutherford Discovery Fellow, and Associate Professor at Massey University's Research Centre for Hauora and Health, has provided expert reaction to the Science Media Centre in response to recent research showing that NZ has increased the export of sugary drinks to the Pacific Islands.
The BMC Nutrition paper showed that imports of sweetened drinks to Pacific countries increased by an average of 0.3 kg per person each year from 2000 to 2015. New Zealand and the USA gained the most financially from these exports.
The biggest cause of death in the Pacific is diet-related chronic diseases. The Pacific Islands have some of the highest rates of type two diabetes (47 percent) and obesity (75 percent) in the world.
“It's incredibly disappointing that New Zealand is the world leader in sweetened drinks exports to the Pacific. We are better than this," says Dr Te Morenga.
And while New Zealand-based companies are earning more from increased exports of sugary drinks to the Pacific, Kiwi taxpayers are having to help pay for the rising healthcare costs in this region.
Dr Te Morenga calls on the NZ government to help protect our Pacific neighbours in much the same way as we have done during the COVID-19 pandemic:
"I urge our Government to take the global pandemics of obesity, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases as seriously as they have Covid-19, and support Pacific nations to control the quality of imported foods and drinks entering their food systems.”
Read the Science Media Centre expert reaction
NZ exporting more sugary drinks to Pacific Islands – Expert Reaction, Science Media Centre, 25 May, 2021
View related media stories
- NZ-based companies profit from sugary drink exports to Pacific, RNZ, 28 May, 2021
- NZ exporting more sugary drinks to Pacific Islands, Stuff, 27 May, 2021
- Pacific needs NZ's help to tackle impact of sugary drinks, academics say, TVNZ, 26 May, 2021
