May 15, 2023
Poor food options create hidden hunger
An expert in nutrition says New Zealand needs to do more to address malnourishment and hidden hunger.
Nutrition Foundation member Elaine Rush, a professor emeritus at Auckland University of Technology, says many people are missing out on essential vitamins and minerals, such as women with low iron levels.
A lack of iodine in soils means it has to be added to bread, and folates are also lacking from the New Zealand diet.
“Folate comes from foliage, green leafy vegetables, puha and silverbeet and those things you would thing we would have growing all around but we don’t and we don’t have access to that,” she says.
When people are surrounded by refined foods and fast food it can be hard to make a consicous decision ot buy vegetables and fruit, particularly at today’s prices.
Professor Rush says removing gst from fresh produce would be a good start – and then Government should look at mass media campaigns to re-educate New Zealanders about the importance of healthy eating.