Kia ora
  
Thank you for your request for official information. The reference number
for your request is: H2023033847
  
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, Manatū Hauora will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. However, over the holiday period there
are 3 weeks that don’t count as ‘working days’. For Official Information
Act (OIA) requests, the holiday period is 25 December 2022 to 15 January
2023 (inclusive). This affects OIA requests received on or after 27
November 2022. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can use the
Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/  
  
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team
on [2][email address]. If any additional factors come to light which
are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that
these can be taken into account. 

Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.

 
Ngā mihi
 
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[4]inistry of Health information releases 

From: J Bruning [5][FOI #25086 email]
Sent: Friday, 8 December 2023 2:37 pm
To: OIA Requests [6][email address]
Subject: Official Information request - MoH Public Health Agency Deputy
Director-General – Is Dr Andrew Old briefed/driving policy on metabolic
syndrome, mental health & ultraprocessed food & nutritional deficiency

 

Dear Ministry of Health,

 

This Official Information Act request is specifically directed to Public
Health Agency Deputy Director-General – Dr Andrew Old and his senior
leadership team within this agency.

 

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 to which the Directorate responsible for leading
public health and population health strategy, policy, regulatory,
intelligence, surveillance and monitoring functions recognises metabolic
syndrome as a cluster of related policies and the association with mental
illness.

 

This Directorate is tasked with strengthening links between science,
public health and policy, particularly in relation to surveillance and the
role of laboratories through an effective, fit-for-purpose and sustainable
Public Health Knowledge and Surveillance System. Therefore surveillance it
would be surprising if surveillance policies would not extend to
understanding dietary dependence on ultraprocessed foods; and the extent
to which nutritional deficiency is present in the New Zealand population,
by age and gender.

 

Please provide the following information:

 

1.            Budget for this team for the current and estimated next
(2024/2025) financial year.

 

2.            Income of the Deputy Director-General of the Public Health
Agency; and number and members of the senior leadership team and their
incomes.

 

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

 

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.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

J Bruning

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. mailto:[FOI #25086 email]
6. mailto:[email address]

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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Kia ora

 

Please find attached a letter regarding your request for information

 

Ngā mihi 

  

 

OIA Services Team

Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health

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

 

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References

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