The Healthy Country: A History of Life and Death in New Zealand - Softcover

"We know much about how personal behaviours, choices and genes influence individual health. This enterprising, well-written, and timely book asks a bigger question: What cultural, political, commercial and socioeconomic influences explain the trends over several centuries in New Zealand's population health and life expectancy? The authors' exploration of major differences in health trends between Maori and Europeans (Pakeha) provides further valuable insights--and just when the need for sustainable and healthier ways of living is pressing on us all." --Professor Emeritus Tony McMichael, Australian National University

In this book, Alistair Woodward and Tony Blakely tell the extraordinary story of life and death in Aotearoa New Zealand from first Maori settlement to the 21st century. Did Maori or Europeans live longer 1769? How did Pakeha New Zealanders become the healthiest, most long lived people on the face of the globe (and why did Maori not enjoy the same life expectancy)? What caused New Zealanders' health and longevity to be surpassed by other nations in the late twentieth century? Through quantitative analysis, presented in accessible graphics and lively text, the authors answer these questions by analysing the impact of nutrition and disease, immigration and unemployment, alcohol and obesity, medicine and vaccination. The result is a powerful argument about why we live and why we die in this country (and what we might do about it). The Health Country? is important reading for anyone interested in the story of New Zealanders and a decisive intervention in debates about health, disease and medicine.