Author Archives
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Go First Lady!
Well done Michelle Obama. I commend her “Let’s Move” public awareness campaign to help stem the tide of childhood obesity in the US, launched on February 9th and outlined in the NZ Herald. A critical success factor is that this… Read More ›
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White Hat Scientists
In olden day cowboy movies the do-gooder cowboy heros wore white hats. Recently the term “white hat bias” was coined to describe bias in scientific research on obesity (the subject of much nutrition research at present) which leads to “distortion… Read More ›
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What’s driving us to drink….and what are we drinking?
Recently I had the privilege of hearing one of my all time dietetic gurus, Linda Tapsell from Wollongong University, speak about how we relate to beverages. Alongside her, Claire Richards from Coca-Cola Oceania shared some fascinating insights into New Zealander’s… Read More ›
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A seventh state of Australia – no way mate!
We both claim to have invented the pavlova, but when it comes to everyday food are we very different from our Australian cousins? Ask any New Zealander and they’ll say yes. But most Australians, it seems, think of us as… Read More ›
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If only it were that simple!
Lately, having done a small amount of work with McDonald’s NZ, I’ve been pondering the place of takeaway foods in our diet. Like them or loathe them, they’re here to stay. A recent evaluation of the zoning strategy employed by… Read More ›
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Do as I say but not as I do?
When we become parents there’s no instruction booklet on how to become perfect role models 24/7. After all, we’re still only human. All children are shaped and formed by good and bad experiences. I was just reading an article about… Read More ›
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What to do when good research gives you a bad result?
All good scientists know that the balance of evidence from objective, well designed research is the only sound basis for making recommendations. So what happens when we don’t like the results we get from research? I was astounded to read… Read More ›
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When is nasty truly nasty?
The word nasty is a strong one that tends to elicit an involuntary feeling of discomfort in most of us – and people do say that your gut reaction is the most important. According to one dictionary “nasty” means: 1. … Read More ›
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“Just because it’s not in the targets doesn’t mean it’s not important”
As soon as I heard the Health Minister had announced the revised list of health targets, which exclude nutrition and obesity, I felt a blog coming on. Especially since it kind of slipped in quietly, with the media otherwise occupied… Read More ›
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Let them eat Veggies!
If Marie Antoinette were Michelle Obama the declaration “Let them eat Cake!” would have been a bit different. As the first lady in the US digs up the pristine Whitehouse lawn to make way for a veggie patch, so guerrilla… Read More ›