Fast-food firms: we've cleaned up

By REBECCA WALSH health reporter

Fast-food outlets and soft-drink makers say that too often they are the scapegoats for child obesity.

Representatives of McDonald's, KFC and Coca-Cola fronted up to a symposium on childhood obesity in Auckland yesterday and stressed the need for a balanced lifestyle, individual choice and parental responsibility.

They outlined initiatives they had introduced such as salads, diet drinks and sponsorship of children's sports teams.

While some conference delegates openly questioned the information provided, most chose to focus on the conference theme - the way forward.

One in seven pre-teen children in New Zealand is obese. Obesity can lead to a range of health problems from Type 2 diabetes to high blood pressure and heart disease.

Fatty, sugar-filled foods, increased use of computers and television and a lack of exercise have been blamed. The situation has sparked calls for a fat tax, restrictions on children's access to fast food and subsidies for healthy food.

Dean Divehall, marketing director for Restaurant Brands, which operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks, said the issue was not just fast food but lifestyle and exercise choices.

Three-quarters of meals were prepared at home in New Zealand compared with 47 per cent in the United States. Sixty per cent of New Zealanders ate KFC and most ate it on average once a month.

Mr Divehall suggested that a big part of the solution was balance. His firm had introduced salads and wraps, as well as nutritional information for customers.

Overseas research had found no evidence that bans or taxes on particular foods were effective in reducing obesity.

Alison Sykora, regional corporate affairs manager for Coca-Cola Oceania, told those at the conference, held at Massey University's Albany campus, that parents and schools had choices.

The company did not market directly to children under 12. It offered a range of diet drink choices and was exploring the option of prioritising the sale of water and orange juices in primary schools.

McDonald's corporate relations director, Liam Jeory, said his company's food was not found in people's pantries at home."They have to get up and get it."

He argued that there were a number of misconceptions about the levels of fat in McDonald's fries.

They were on a par with the levels in so-called healthy choices such as muesli.

McDonald's had increased its range of options, including salads and paninis. Its playgrounds meant children could exercise after they had eaten. Role models such as Olympic cyclist Sarah Ulmer encouraged an active lifestyle and McDonald's was one of the biggest sponsors of junior sport in NZ.

Garth Wyllie, executive officer of the Interactive Software Association of New Zealand, said the computer games market was worth about $100 million a year, and growing. The average household had one game console and in many two were common.

But he said the games did not make children obese and it was up to parents to limit the time children spent on them.

Conference delegates, who included members of the food and fitness industries, nutritionists, doctors, schoolchildren and local government officials, stressed the need for action now, for more education and understanding about nutrition and the benefits of exercise.

They pointed to a need for better communication across all sectors and a broad-based environmental approach and asked that children's views be taken into account.

Professor John Birkbeck, of Massey University's Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, proposed that schools measure children's height and weight in order to target those most at risk.

Celia Murphy, executive director of the Obesity Action Coalition, representing 61 non-profit organisations, said prevention was vital.

"We do not have the luxury of time. If we wait for research results we will have generations of people unable to live life to their potential and many unnecessary deaths."