Bold action to health urged

By KATHERINE HOBY

New Zealanders involved in a global health report say "bold action" is required to ensure New Zealand makes gains in healthy life expectancy.

Dr Anthony Rodgers, who works at the University of Auckland, was the principal author of the World Health Organisation report - World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks to Health, Promoting Healthy Life.

He points to improved tobacco control, and reduced salt levels in manufactured foods as key Government and community-driven actions that could address New Zealand's biggest health risks.

"Focusing on New Zealand's biggest health risks, such as tobacco, can reduce inequalities, adding life to years as well as years to life," Dr Rodgers said.

"Tobacco is head and shoulders above our other risks to health. For countries like New Zealand, it's the leading cause of lost healthy life years by a wide margin."

A dozen people die every day from tobacco-related causes - that is, about 4500 a year.

"Smoking harms people of all ages - from stunting growth in the womb, cot death in babies, asthma in young adults through life-threatening or disabling stroke, heart disease or cancer in middle-aged and the elderly."

Dr Rodgers said the Smokefree Environments Bill, being considered by the Health Select Committee, was the next big opportunity to introduce a measure which would see the number of deaths from tobacco fall.

Smokefree Coalition chairperson Dr Diana North said the bill, which aims to make all workplaces and schools smokefree, would save lives.

"Making smoking indoors less socially acceptable is a powerful tool to encourage quitting, often more powerful than fear of disease."

Sally Jackman, executive of the Drug Foundation, said: "The report tells us how serious alcohol is in developed countries like New Zealand. The health benefits are far outweighed by the hazards, including cancer, liver damage, homicide and other alcohol use disorders. Alcohol contributes to high blood pressure which is the second biggest problem after tobacco, which is the greatest."

One-third of all deaths in New Zealand were related to nutrition-related risks, Dr Rodgers said. These included high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity.

The big messages from the WHO report were meant for the Government and community groups.

Despite the success in this country of iniatives such as Pick the Tick and Quitline, we could be doing more to help ourselves, Dr Rodgers said.

He was very proud to talk about Pick the Tick while working on the report from Geneva. Research has shown the significant impact it has had on the salt content of everyday foods in New Zealand, with over 33 tonnes of salt being excluded from breads, cereals, and margarines.

The initiative had also had success in the United Kingdom, he said. "They have found that manufacturers don't mind ratcheting down salt levels if everyone else is doing it.

"If you just take it down a few per cent a year no-one will notice the difference, but the difference will be that the whole population benefits from lower blood pressure."

Forty per cent of deaths worldwide are due to 10 major risk factors. The next 10 account for only about 5 per cent more deaths.

The World Health Organisation report was the first to make these findings. The report represents one of the largest research projects undertaken by the WHO. Sub-titled "Reducing risks, promoting health life", it measures the amount of disease, disability and death attributable to leading health risks and calculates how much of this could be avoided in the next 20 years.

Professor Christopher Murray, director of the report, said we need work on prevention as well as treatment.

"Globally, we need to achieve a much better balance between preventing disease and merely treating its consequences," he said.

"Athough this report carries some ominous warnings, it also opens the door to a healthier future for all countries - if they're prepared to act boldly now."

The report also examines what can be done about these risks by assessing the effectiveness and costs of relevant interventions.

The benefits from tackling risks are much greater than thought, and the risks can mostly be reversed within just a few years.

Head1: Cut risks

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How to ensure you have a long life and prosper:


* Don't smoke. If you do, try to give up. Try not to spend long amounts of time around those who smoke. Quitline is a free confidential service for those wanting advice and help with quitting. Call 0800778-778.

* Stop feeding so much fastfood and convenience food into your body. Frequent helpings of fatty foods may seem like the cheap and quick option but, in the long run, they are helping to push up cholesterol levels and blood pressure rates and are expanding the New Zealand waistline.

* Drink alcohol in moderation only. Heavy drinking over a long time has been linked to a number of health problems, particularly liver and heart damage, hypertension and some cancers.

* Watch out when you're outdoors. Skin cancers cost the health system about $33 million and can take a huge toll personally if not treated early. Spending less time in the sun between 11am and 4pm can reduce UV radiation exposure by up to 60 per cent. The old phrase still rings true: slip (on a T-shirt), slop (on some sunscreen), slap (on a hat) and wrap (some decent sunglasses). Be vigilant about possible skin cancers and get them checked early.

* Try to keep work and personal stress under control. Worrying will not get you anywhere. Try talking problems and concerns out with a partner or friend.

* Try to get sound, regular sleep. Lack of sleep and getting over-tired will affect many areas of life.

* Regular gentle exercise is good for everyone. Twenty minutes three times a week is seen as the minimum for an adult. But all sorts of movement and activity count - vigorous housework, walking, washing the car. It all adds up.

Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/health

The full World Health Organisation report