Research
FROM SUGARS TO GRAINS
PUSHING FOOD INDUSTRY CHANGE
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PHOTO: VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON
Nutritional scientist Dr Lisa Te Morenga (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Te Rarawa) is the latest recipient of the Royal Society’s Hamilton Award – for excellence in research over the course of an early career.
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Autumn 2020
riven by a desire to make a difference in Māori health, Lisa Te Morenga completed a PhD nine years ago investigating the effects of diet composition on diabetes risk, then began researching the effects of sugars on bodyweight. Her reviews and studies have been influential, with one paper used by both the USDA (United States Dietary Guidelines) and the EFSA (European Food Standards Association). Lisa says, “People think sugar is the evil, toxic thing, but as nutritionists we know that dietary intake is more complex. There was this whole movement a few years ago, where people were saying sugar caused the obesity epidemic and diabetes, and fat had been unfairly maligned. And it’s more complicated.” One thing her early work showed was that, unlike claims to the contrary, there was nothing metabolically special about sugar in terms of how its calories contributed to body weight. It sounds like a simple finding, but it has enormous implications. “If you turn around now and blame sugar for everything, we’ll see a proliferation of junk foods that are high in fat and low in sugar. We won’t be better off, because the issue is junk food in general, or ‘discretionary foods’, and not eating enough healthy foods. We do eat a lot of sugar. But we also eat a lot of discretionary fat, salt, and refined carbohydrates.” For example, “If all you did was brought in a sugar tax to get people to reduce soft drink intake, I don’t think it would be effective. We need multi-factorial public health strategies.” She adds, “It’s not just about getting consumers to make healthier choices. You need the industry to buy into it too. They’ll respond to the consumers, but they can also drive what the consumers choose.” Essentially, says Lisa, “we’re all eating more than we need, and not exercising enough. If I think back to the food portions my family served when I was a teenager, they were smaller. Cakes were smaller. And supermarkets weren’t open all the time. We’ve got used to things getting bigger and bigger, and more food around us all the time. “I don’t think there’s any magical nutritional solution to our health and obesity crisis, but everyone wants one.” WORKING WITH WHO
Lisa has had a policy of saying yes to opportunities. “For early career researchers, if you’re brave and you take those, even if you’re not quite sure, they can lead you places you might never have anticipated.” As a result of her sugar research, “I was invited to World
