Government is to be lauded for its proposal to ban unhealthy food in school tuck shops

The Government is to be lauded for its proposal to ban unhealthy food in school tuck shops - a joint initiative from Health and Education ministries.

New Zealand like most other western countries is facing an obesity epidemic in the future. Initiatives are needed for all New Zealanders' health, adult as well as children. Education of the nation's eating habits is a vital necessity - take away food has become part of regular diets instead of being considered as just a quick meal for families at certain times. Parents have become ignorant or just downright lazy!

Some children are so used to KFC or Mcdonalds they don't even know what real food tastes like. Controls on school tuck shops is a good beginning. Compulsory physical education that used to be part of the school curriculum should be reintroduced. School sports is another area which should be encouraged. A couple of generations ago all New Zealand children were involved in some sporting activity at some level or another. Perhaps teachers can be encouraged back to coaching sports teams outside of school hours by paying them well.

There is no doubt that the shameful profit orientated attitude of the National Government in the 1990's affected what schools sold in their tuck shops. They didn't really care what the standard of food was being sold, fatty meat pies and sugary cream buns etc. The kids liked them but it didn't do much for their health, considering the lack of exercise older school children have had in recent decades. Even younger children who once were on the go all the time are now getting obese and preferring to sit behind computers and TV's playing computer games.

There is now a chance, as long as parents and the rest of society support the Government's health and education initiatives; but I suspect that the rampant right wing obsession during the last year or so of inanely attacking every government policy and initiative regardless will make it difficult to succeed. Our kids could die under a National Party administration which is still obsessed with profits and the accumalation of wealth. We can avoid that by re-electing a Labour Government next year. Lets start by supporting the government now!