Dear Editor
I watched with utter dismay the TV1 Sunday programme about the South Aucklander who, with the connivance of family, ate his way to an unbelievable 300 kg, 47 stone, the weight of two motorcycles! The density of fast food outlets in the area was staggering. If wives work I can understand the great difficulty of providing and cooking for many after a day of work in some physical job. But surely many wives or other adults must be home all day in many cases. How did they or their parents provide in the past, or in their home islands?
Maybe once a month I treat myself to $15 of steak and veggies on rice, enough for more than one meal. And much more expensive than a typical home-cooked meal. Other customers never order any vegetables. Just mountains of meat, and spend vastly more than me. In many outlets, the vegetables appear as if untouched for days.
What are these folk taught at school? Does “maths” include the addition of calories? Or calculation of BMA? Is home science still taught? Or is the time spent on kapahaka and te reo?
Gargantuan pupils and those on the way, wandering to and from the local secondary school are very frequently eating pies, chips, or sucking on a drink. As a youth, we had no between-meal snacks, and flavoured drinks were a Christmas treat. Many of the vast welfare sums paid directly and indirectly would be far better spent on distribution of candid information. Have any academics ever got sufficiently close to these communities to figure out exactly what goes on?
When the churches eventually took an interest I understand behaviour for COVID was much improved. Perhaps more effort should be directed to churches.
Robert Arthur
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