The survey also found daily smoking has decreased. Photo / 123rf
The survey also found daily smoking has decreased. Photo / 123rf
New Zealanders are generally healthy, but the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on adult mental health, a Ministry of Health survey has found.
One-in-three Kiwi adults are obese, one-in-five are hazardous drinkers, but fewer people smoke cigarettes.
One-in-seven New Zealand children live in homes that sometimes or regularly run out of food.
Deputy director of public health Niki Stefanogiannis said the annual survey provided valuable information about the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
"The 2020/21 results are based on data collected between September 2020 and August 2021," she said.
Stefanogiannis believes the information will provide some insights into the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on New Zealander's health.
"Covid-19 has been a huge focus for the health sector. The release of the survey results highlight the other key health issues we need to continue to work on," she said.
Data from the survey shows most New Zealanders (88 per cent) are in good health.
However, the psychological distress among adults has increased.
Nearly one-in-10 adults (9.6 per cent) said they experienced distress compared to last year's result of 7.5 per cent.
Nearly one in 10 adults (9.6 per cent) said they experienced distress. Photo / 123rf
The survey found men were less likely than women to have experienced psychological distress in the past four weeks. But Māori and Pacific adults were 1.6 and 1.4 times more likely to experience psychological distress.
One-in-five adults engage in hazardous drinking, but New Zealanders are smoking less than last year.
The survey also found daily smoking has dipped, with this year's data showing what Stefanogiannis called a " larger than usual decrease".
In 2020/21, 10.9 per cent of those who took part in the survey were current smokers compared to the 13.7 per cent in the study taken across 2019/20.
Action for Smokefree director Deborah Hart said work by the Government and the smokefree sector had paid off.
Associate Professor Collin Tukuitonga said he was disappointed by the high smoking rates among the Pacific community. Photo / Natalie Slade
However, smoking among Māori and Pacific adults remained high: 22.3 per cent of Māori and 16.4 per cent of Pacific adults were daily smokers.
"The hard work of the Government and those in the smokefree sector is paying dividends," Hart said. "But we must prioritise those who need support to quit smoking – Māori, Pacific and those in low socio-economic status."
Associate Professor Collin Tukuitonga was disappointed by the high smoking rates among the Pacific community.
"It is disappointing that Pacific rates remain high. We can see from the vaccine rollout what can be achieved when communities are engaged.
"That is what we need to ensure Pacific people get to the Smokefree 2025 goal."
Other results show 19.9 per cent of adults reported having a hazardous drinking pattern compared to 21.3 per cent recorded in last year's survey.
Alcohol Action NZ said the statistics tell a "sad story about the health of our country".
Professor Jennie Connor, a medical spokeswoman for Alcohol Action NZ, said: "Hazardous drinkers suffer and contribute more than their share of harm from alcohol: accidental injuries to themselves and others, violence and self-harm, a range of chronic health conditions and damaged relationships and families.
"However, lower level drinkers also suffer health effects from alcohol, and everyone is affected by the drinking of others."
An increase in child and adult obesity was also found: 1.5 million New Zealanders were considered obese in 2020/21 compared to 1.36m in 2019/20 and 12.7 per cent of children aged between 2 and 14 were classified as obese, up from 9.5 per cent a year earlier.
The survey found about one in every seven children (14.9 per cent) lived in homes where food often or sometimes runs out. However, this had decreased from 2019/20's figure of 20 per cent.
