First there was the ‘fat’ gene which was a perfect excuse for every fat person to blame their gene pool… Now it’s revealed that there is a ‘skinny’ gene. What will they discover next? The ‘smoking’ gene? The ‘bad-driver’ gene? The ‘I’m a real nasty ba@s%a&d’ gene? Honestly, regardless of whether this gene exists, if […]

It is heartening to see that the government is looking seriously to address the issue of obesity by implementing a ‘traffic-light’ system for food. It may be too simplistic (according to the critics) and our eyes might eventually glaze over (like health warnings on cigarette packs) but it’s a start in the right direction. From […]

I did a straw poll at work today. My question was “What do you think is the most commonly prescribed drug in New Zealand, after Paracetamol?” Here are the responses from my co-workers, in no particular order: Prozac – good try Viagra – hmmm, wishful thinking Something for arthritis(?) – could be… Asthma medication – […]

I read today in the Dominion Post of another study showing that fatty high-sugar foods are the most popular at the supermarket checkout. The difference was that this was a distinctly New Zealand study undertaken in a Wellington supermarket over a one year period. The results will be published soon in the international journal Public […]