Is nutrition really not incorporated in New Zealand's Health Strategy?

Chapter 6 demonstrates that across a wide range of policy documents, nutrition is referred to obliquely, and then only with respect for the need to accord with the 'healthy diet' specified by the dietary guidelines.

Multimorbidity as an outcome of poor nutrition is not considered by the Ministry of Health. Effectively, nutritional and dietary interventions that are specifically tasked with reversing health conditions, or mitigating metabolic and mental health conditions, are outside scopes and work programmes because the focus of nutrient (macronutrient and micronutrient) guidelines, historically, has been focussed on preventing frank deficiency. Chapters one and eight highlight that nutrient recommendations are based around preventing deficiency, and are consequently unable to address poor nutrient status that is associated with many chronic metabolic and mental health conditions.

Despite the He Ara Oranga Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction consistently acknowledging associations between poor nutritional status and poor mental health outcomes, this knowledge was not incorporated as a core consideration in subsequent policy development. Neither the ten-year strategy Kia Manawanui Aotearoa: the Long-term pathway to mental wellbeing’, nor a recent update, includes a coherent policy framework for integrating nutrition into mental health service design, prevention strategies, or therapeutic pathways.

As a result any discussion, such as in this paper, of nutrition and dietary improvement to support brain health would be outside the 'scope' or the 'work programme' of agencies working on mental health and wellbeing.

Is nutrition really not incorporated in New Zealand's Health Strategy?

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