Kia ora
  
Thank you for your request for official information. The reference number
for your request is: H2023033842
  
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here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/  
  
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Ngā mihi
 
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[4]inistry of Health information releases 
 
 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: J Bruning <[FOI #25085 email]>;
Received: Fri Dec 08 2023 14:24:42 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>; OIA <[email address]>;
Subject: Official Information request - Extent to which strategy policy &
legislation Deputy Director General Maree Roberts briefed - metabolic
syndrome, mental health & ultraprocessed food

Dear Ministry of Health,

This request is directed to Deputy Director-General – Maree Roberts, who
is responsible for Strategy Policy and Legislation and staff within this
directorate.

Please do not forward this to another department within the Ministry of
Health. This request is specifically aimed to this directorate to
understand the extent of information held by the Directorate responsible
for leading long-term strategy, setting direction and priority areas for
investment and leading Ministry policy advice across a range of areas
including workforce, disability, family and community health and COVID-19.

As public servants this department is tasked with improving, promoting,
and protecting public health under the Health Act 1956. Ultraprocessed
food is a recognised driver of both metabolic syndrome and mental illness.
These conditions can present as a cluster of associated multimorbid
conditions that drive health and wellbeing loss. Therefore, it is to be
expected that this information would be held by your department so as to
inform long-term strategy and direction setting.
Please supply:
1.      Budget for this team for the current and estimated next
(2024/2025) financial year.

2.      Income of the Deputy Director-General Strategy Policy and
Legislation, and numbers of team members and the incomes of the senior
leadership team.

3.      Terms of reference/expectations for this team and the name of the
head of department that established the terms of reference/expectations
for this directorate and team.

4.      Information (for populations older than, and under 18 years) held
by or requested by this directorate including research/memos/advice/emails
as relating to:

a.      The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in New Zealand, a cluster of
symptoms characterised by central obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and
insulin resistance.
b.      Current and predicted cost to the health system from metabolic
syndrome which presents as multimorbidity (i.e. cost of multimorbidity for
those diagnosed with metabolic syndrome).
c.      Metabolic syndrome and multimorbidity as a risk factor for viral
and bacteriological infections.
d.      Metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for poor mental health.
e.      Socioeconomic status as a predictor for metabolic syndrome.
f.      Diet high in ultraprocessed food as a predictor for metabolic
syndrome.
g.     Population level data relating to nutrient deficiency (which may
include but is not limited to vitamins B,D,C and iron) by age and
socio-economic status.

5.      Information held by or requested by this directorate including
research/memos/advice/emails for long-term strategy, setting direction and
priority areas for investment and policy implementation. Scoping or
cost/benefit analyses undertaken:
a.      Reducing ultraprocessed food consumption to improve mental health
and/or metabolic syndrome, for example based on reduction of years of
healthy life lost due to disability (YLDs) and years lost due to premature
mortality (YLLs).
b.      Public education campaign: Diet quality/nutrition status as a
predictor for mental health risk; diabetes risk; and/or cancer risk.
c.      Public education for healthy cooking and food preparation.
Primary, secondary and for expectant parents.
d.      Potential for medical practices to staff publicly funded
nutritionists/dieticians to support dietary changes in patients diagnosed
with mental illness, diabetes and cancer.

6.      Analyses/Reviews/Reports received or undertaken by this
directorate to understand international developments:
a.      Meta-analyses to identify effectiveness of nutrition as protective
for mental health.
b.      Countries that tax ultraprocessed food (UPF) and/or sugar
sweetened beverages; tax levels, food products targeted for taxation, year
established, end-point.
c.      White paper/scientific reviews on the effectiveness of UPF tax
policies in OECD nations.
d.      OECD countries that provide healthy vegetable and meat-based
school lunches.

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

J Bruning
 

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Kia ora

 

Thank you for your four requests under the Official Information Act
received by Mantū Hauora (the Ministry of Health) on 8 December 2023.

 

We are contacting you to clarify the parts of your requests, copied below:

 

4.      Information held by or requested by this directorate including
research/memos/advice/emails relating to:
a.      The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in New Zealand, a cluster of
symptoms characterised by central obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and
insulin resistance.
b.      Current and predicted cost to the health system from metabolic
syndrome which presents as multimorbidity (i.e. cost of multimorbidity for
those diagnosed with metabolic syndrome).
c.      Metabolic syndrome and multimorbidity as a risk factor for viral
and bacteriological infections.
d.      Metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for poor mental health.
e.      Socioeconomic status as a predictor for metabolic syndrome.
f.      Diet high in ultraprocessed food as a predictor for metabolic
syndrome.
g.     Population level data relating to nutrient deficiency (which may
include but is not limited to vitamins B,D,C and iron) by age and
socio-economic status.

5.      Public health knowledge and surveillance system - extent to which
this data is being monitored and aggregated:
a.      Average cost of metabolic syndrome by age, gender and
socioeconomic status.
b.      Identifying prevalence of diet-related gastrointestinal disorders
by age and gender.
c.      Identifying key nutrients people with diabetes, cancer and mental
illness are commonly deficient in.
d.      Identifying the proportion of the diet based on ultraprocessed
food by age and socioeconomic status.
e.      Reviewing success and cost of school lunch programme initiatives
throughout New Zealand.

 

For context, Manatū Hauora (the Ministry of Health) does not widely use
the metabolic syndrome classification.

Please clarify if you are seeking information specifically about metabolic
syndrome only or have a broader interest in obesity, diabetes,
hypertension etc?  

 

We are also contacting you in accordance with section 18B of the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act) as your requests do not specify a timeframe
and as such require a search through a very large volume of information.

Your requests may be refused under section 18(f) of the Act as the
information requested cannot be made available without substantial
collation or research. Are you able to specify the timeframe you are
interested in?

 

Please note, under section 15 of the Official Information Act 1982, any
clarification or amendments made to a request within seven days after the
date it is received, that request may be treated as a new request and the
time limit for the response restarts.  

We look forward to receiving your response. 

 

Ngā mihi

 

OIA Services

Government and Executive Services | Te Pou Whakatere Kāwanatanga

Manatū Hauora

 

****************************************************************************
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attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************

hide quoted sections

Kia ora
Please find attached a response to your request for information, reference
H2023033842.
Please accept our apologies for the confusion with reference numbers. 
The Ministry provided a response to your request made to the Clinical,
Community and Mental Health directorate on 29 January 2024 (reference:
H2023033846). We understand the reference number was incorrected quoted. 
The Ministry is currently preparing a response to OIAs:

* H2023033845 
* H2023033847

Ngā mihi 

  

OIA Services Team

Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health

M[1]inistry of Health information releases 
U[2]nite against COVID-19 

****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************

References

Visible links
1. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
2. https://covid19.govt.nz/

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