Judith Collins' characterisation of obesity as a personal choice has been labelled "bullshit" in a viral social media post by an overweight Kiwi.
The National Party leader attracted criticism after telling media on Tuesday that obese people should "take some personal responsibility" for their weight by "[owning] up to our little weaknesses" and "not [blaming] systems".
She later admitted she was overweight herself, telling Magic Talk she finds it "very difficult to resist anything with potato".
Health experts and obesity specialists have hit out at Collins for the remarks, but few critiques have gained quite as much traction as that of Isoa Kavakimotu, whose social media posts has been liked by more than 30,000 people and shared by thousands of others.
In the post, the Kiwi Pacific Islander admits Collins "isn't half wrong" for suggesting Kiwis takes personal responsibility for their weight.
But Kavakimotu says while he accepts he ate unhealthy food, drank fizzy drinks and added sugar to his tea, he's a product of the takeaways and liquor stores that surrounded his home.
"When the dairy is selling fruit for $1.50 per fruit, but pies are $1 each, and I only have $3 for lunch... guess what I'm gonna buy? How do you expect me to do 5+ a day when I barely had $5 to buy myself some fruits at the shop?" he asks.
"Takeaways and liquor stores on most street corners are designed to kill off those living in low socio-economic neighbourhoods."
Kavakimotu says his ancestors made do with fatty but cheap cuts of meat - such as corned beef, povi masima and mutton flaps - and are now paying for it with growing waistlines.
"Gordon Ramsay wouldn't dare cook with lamb flaps because they're OFFCUTS," he wrote. "You'd be lucky to find them at Countdown Grey Lynn, but sometimes Countdown Mt Wellington puts lamb flaps on special, $40 a bag to feed your family for a week.
"This is just a few reasons as to why there's an obesity epidemic among Māori and Pasifika."
He criticised Collins for her "bullshit" refusal to put any blame on the current system, saying it was this system that enabled the fattiest cuts of meat to "become staples of our diet" and for him to grow up surrounded by "heart attack food and naughty/violent juice".
Collins has not apologised for her comments and on Wednesday doubled-down in an appearance on The AM Show, telling host Duncan Garner Kiwis need to stop making excuses.
"If we keep making excuses and saying, 'Oh parents are too busy,' yes of course. It doesn't take actually much to get frozen vegetables out of the freezer and pull them out and do something with them. It's not that hard."
