Call for water only 2022 to fill policy gap on sugary drinks

Water is fast becoming New Zealand’s greatest asset but its value to child health is being undermined by poor and leaky policy.

Authors of a paper on drinks policies, published this week in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, are calling for 2022 as the year for ‘Water Only’ in New Zealand’s primary and intermediate schools.

Associate Professor Bodo Lang, from the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Business and Economics, explains that despite nearly two decades of Government and industry accord, most New Zealand school children are exposed continuously to a product with devastating effects and well-documented long-term health and economic consequences. “This product is sugary drink.”

“We believe there is scope for the Government to develop and implement an enduring and actionable policy to ‘do no harm’. That is ‘Water Only’ from 2022 for primary and intermediate schools. We also urge high schools to become ‘Sugary Drink Free’ at the same time.”

The researchers show measures to restrict sugar drinks in schools are plagued by supply chain loopholes and product definition. “Through our research, we can see that industry and Ministry agreements are easily circumvented. For instance, while large manufacturers and wholesalers do not engage with schools, intermediary businesses on-sell sugary drinks or purchase directly from supermarkets to bypass these same wholesalers. These businesses may even be the school canteens which are contracted out to private operators.”

“A second challenge is the popularity and supply of non-carbonated sugary drinks. Juice, flavoured milk, and sports drinks contribute to persistently high consumption levels of sugary beverages in New Zealand. Recent studies show 30 percent of primary schools, half of intermediate schools, and all high schools supply flavoured milks and juices.”

“The evidence is clear: Sugary drinks have been a public health hazard in schools for years. A water only policy for primary and intermediate schools and a zero-sugar drink mandate for high schools would be cost-effective, clear and effective measures to mitigate save ongoing health issues for New Zealand children.”