Health
Quotes
Research
from the Wellington Medical School shows the incidence
of many health problems is much higher in Hawke's Bay than in
other parts of New Zealand. A report to the Hawke's Bay
District Health Board identifies a higher death rate and a greater
incidence of asthma, cardiovascular and smoking-related diseases
in the region.
- One News,
26 September 2001
A
new study has found that that child obesity has more than tripled
in the past 15 years. A team of paediatricians compared the body
mass of almost 900 11-and-12-year-olds in Hawke's Bay
in 1989 with a similar group in 2000. The study says the number
of those classed as obese rose from 2.5% to 9%. One of the researchers,
David Barry, says the increase of obesity here is greater
than in other countries where similar studies have been
done. The Director General of Public Health, Don Matheson, says
the almost four fold increase in overweight children
proves the issue must be taken seriously.
- One News, 23 March 2004
Evidence
is emerging to suggest that the prevalence of overweight and obesity
is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. New Zealand is no
exception. In 2002/3 one in three adults was overweight
(excludes obese) and one in five adults was obese.
- NZ Ministry of Health, www.moh.govt.nz/obesity
In
New Zealand, approximately 15% of the adult population and 20%
of children under the age of 15 are affected by asthma.
- Southern Cross Health Insurance, http://www.southerncross.co.nz
New
Zealand has the second highest prevalence of asthma in the world.
- The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, www.asthmanz.co.nz
An
epidemic of type 2 diabetes
is occurring in New Zealand, as in other developed countries,
driven mainly by demographic trends and the increasing prevalence
of overweight and obesity.
- NZ Ministry of Health, www.moh.govt.nz
Diabetes
is exploding in the world and will more heavily impact on certain
sectors of the New Zealand community. The rise in obesity
and diabetes has been more rapid than anyone
predicted.
- Professor Russell Scott, Christchurch Clinical School of Medicine,
www.diabetes.org.nz
The
treatment costs of type 2 diabetes will swamp District
Health Boards, putting further pressure on their already
limited resources to treat chronic conditions and crowding out
the potential to provide the resources to support effective preventative
initiatives.
- Suzanne Snively, Economist at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, www.diabetes.org.nz
Heart
health has an adverse future forecast in New Zealand.
- The New Zealand Medical Journal, www.nzma.org.nz
Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of mortality in New Zealand.
- NZ Health Strategy DHB Toolkit, www.moh.govt.nz
Observations
Even
in these relatively 'normal' times, the health of our population
has clearly been declining.
While
many of us are now aware of the oil-related input into modern
medicine and pharmaceuticals, factors not so often mentioned are
the consequences of the closure of most of our smaller hospitals,
formerly serving their local communities. Government policies
of centralisation have ensured total dependence on long-distance
transport, by both road and air, to convey patients to the remaining
major hospitals. This also forces friends and relatives to travel
long distances to support their loved ones.
Resources
Where
there is no Doctor
This
very comprehensive (494 pages) handbook was originally
written primarily as a village health care handbook
for those in third world countries who live far from
medical centres, in places where there is no doctor.
The
PDF book is a large download (11MB) and will require
that you have installed on your computer a PDF reader
such as Adobe Reader, or the much more compact Foxit
Reader, which can be freely downloaded from
here.
It
is suggested that, rather than opening the document
in your browser, you right mouse click on the button
to the right, and elect to "Save target as ..."
(Explorer) or "Save link as ... (Firefox).
Please
be sure to also read the disclaimer at the bottom
of this page.
|
|
|
Where
there is no Dentist
Where
there is no Dentist is a 240 page book about what
people can do for themselves and each other to care
for their gums and teeth. It was felt that there is
a strong need to provide ordinary people and community
workers with more skills to prevent and cure problems
in the mouth.
Again,
this 4.6MB PDF book will require that you have installed
on your computer a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader,
or the much more compact Foxit Reader,
which can be freely downloaded from here.
It
is suggested that,you right mouse click on the button
to the right, and elect to "Save target as ..."
(Explorer) or "Save link as ... (Firefox).
Please
be sure to also read the disclaimer at the bottom
of this page.
|
|
|
How
to Beat the Bird Flu
With
infrastructures already weakened by the fallout from
peak oil, probably the last additional problem we
would then need would be the arrival of a human-to-human
transmissible version of the H5N1 bird flu virus.
But, as this is a 'just in case' site, we offer here
a (40 page, 0.8 MB) downloadable copy of the publication
by Mike Adams, in which you can learn how to boost
your flu immunity and where to find natural antiviral
treatments (considering the possibility / probability
that there will not be adequate stocks of antiviral
medications available in the event of a pandemic).
It
is suggested that,you right mouse click on the button
to the right, and elect to "Save target as ..."
(Explorer) or "Save link as ... (Firefox).
Please
be sure to also read the disclaimer at the bottom
of this page.
|
|
|
|
|