Project to create healthy towns

By AINSLEY THOMSON

Entire towns will be involved in a long-term project aiming to halt New Zealand's epidemic of child obesity.

The Otago University project, thought to be a world first, will manipulate the environment of three Otago towns by providing after-school physical activities for children and by making healthy food available.

"If you want to do something about the obesity epidemic you have to start in childhood," said Professor Jim Mann.

Attempts so far to combat child obesity had either treated individual children or been school-based, but neither had been effective.

Accurate research was also lacking.

"But I think everyone knows the rate of obesity in children is increasing - just how much we are not sure - but I think we can be fairly confident it will be like any other country in the western world."

Professor Mann believes a child's environment needs to be manipulated to make any permanent change - "encouraging children to be active rather than lie around in front of their computers after school".

He would not give exact details of the programme, but said it would include an increase in after-school physical activities and changes to available foods in shops.

For example, takeaways shops would offer grilled fish and chips, made to Heart Foundation standards.

The project, expected to cost between $500,000 and $750,000, has already received some funding, and Professor Mann's team expects to know whether further funding is approved in the next month.

If it is, the study will begin in the middle of the year. Until then the towns involved cannot be made public.

The researchers will begin by taking measurements of children's weight, height and general body composition.

The children and towns will be followed and resurveyed after two years and compared with control populations.

Various groups and townspeople have been consulted in preparation for the study.

"This is a free country and no one will be forced to do things they don't want to do, or eat anything they don't want to eat. It will hopefully offer opportunities," said Professor Mann.

His research follows an extensive project looking at child nutrition that has just been completed.

The Ministry of Health-commissioned children's nutrition survey, which began in February last year and finished in December, will provide national data on child obesity rates, food intakes and physical activity.

Results will be available in November.