Science Media Centre

WWI soldiers serving in the trenches of  Gallipoli may have suffered scurvy and other illnesses due nutritionally deficient rations, according to new research. “An army marches on it stomach.” This famous quote from Napoleon Bonaparte was not lost on researchers analysing rations supplied to Kiwi soldiers almost a century ago. In a new study published [...]

The results of the latest National Health Survey have been released, providing a snapshot of the health of New Zealand health and how has changed over time. Growing ethnic and and socio-economic inequalities, particularity in child and adult obesity rates, have raised concern. The survey contains information about smoking, nutrition, access to health care and [...]

Experts gathering in Auckland this week have one health concern firmly in their sights: Australasia’s obesity epidemic. The  Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to bring together clinicians, scientists, policy makers and patients to work toward an integrated approach to improve the management and prevention of obesity in Australasia, and [...]

What we feed ourselves and our children will shape the future of New Zealand. The complex problem of obesity – and its potential solutions – is the focus of  the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS), taking place in Auckland this week. And ahead of the meeting, several key [...]

New research, based on an analysis of several hundred studies, has cast doubt on arguments that organically grown foods are more nutritious than conventionally grown foods. The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine,  is the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date of existing studies comparing organic and conventional foods. Researchers analysed 237 separate studies which compared [...]

The reach and impact of the multinational food and beverage industry – ‘Big Food’-  has been thoroughly under-examined, according to the authors of a new series of articles calling  for greater scrutiny of the industry. The journal PLoS Medicine is launching a special series of articles highlighting the influence and impact of the food industry. [...]

Recent research showing a link between moderate chocolate consumption and body mass index has received wide spread coverage in the news (see New Zealand examples here, here and here). But will eating chocolate actually lead to weight loss? The science isn’t that simple writes Justin Norrie, editor of the science news and analysis site The [...]

When it comes to healthy food, consumers are often at the mercy of misleading dietary claims from manufacturers. Now researchers have cut through the confusion with a no-nonsense list of foods that the overweight can avoid without compromising nutrition. Researchers from the University of Otago, Christchurch have developed list of foods that they describe as [...]

A recent study suggests that historical milk-in-schools programmes – similar to the planned initiative announced by Fonterra today – may have played a role in preventing colon cancer in New Zealand. Today dairy cooperative Fonterra announced they will be launching a free milk in schools pilot programme, covering 110 schools in Northland during the first [...]

Christmas is coming, and while for many New Zealanders the festive season does involve a feast, there will be many others struggling to feed their family even the most basic meal. Food insecurity is on the increase. Results from the latest Adult Nutrition Survey published earlier this year showed that  from 1997 to 2008/09 the [...]