Third of children overweight, survey shows

12.00pm

A third of New Zealand children are overweight, including 10 per cent who are obese, a new survey shows.

The National Children's Nutrition Survey showed 9.8 per cent of 3275 five-to-14-year-old children surveyed were obese and a further 21.3 per cent were overweight.

Overweight and obesity levels were highest for Pacific children, followed by Maori.

Overall, younger children had better food and nutrient intakes than older children and were less likely to be overweight.

Children were identified as Pacific, Maori or European and others. Those in the latter group had the lowest levels of inadequate food intakes and ate less fat.

The greatest contributors to total fat in the diet were potatoes, kumara and taro, which included potato chips and crisps, the report said. The largest contributor of saturated fat was milk.

Obesity Action Coalition executive director Celia Murphy said the survey showed a "desperate" situation for Pacific children, with 33 per cent being overweight and 28 per cent obese.

"These obese children risk a host of serious health consequences," Ms Murphy said.

"If they grow into obese adults, and we know many of them will, they are likely to die of the consequences of their obesity before their parents (die)."

The whole social environment needed to change if the incidence of obesity was to change, she said.

"For many people right now, the healthy choices are the hardest to make while the unhealthy choices are the easiest.

"It's easier to take the kids in the car than to walk them to school, and it's easier to buy takeaways than prepare a nutritious meal at home."

Ms Murphy called for more Government funding to address the obesity issues.

Other findings:

* More than 25 per cent of children's sucrose intake came from beverages, while 20 per cent came from sugar and sweets;

* About 5 per cent had taken a dietary supplement in the previous 24 hours;

* 95.3 per cent had an omnivorous diet;

* Younger children were more likely to eat food at home before school and bring most of their school food from home than older children;

* Pacific households, and households with the most children, had the least food;

* Two out of five children ate fruit at least twice a day and three out of five ate vegetables three or more times a day;

* About 80 per cent of children preferred white bread.


Health Minister Annette King said the survey posed a challenge to all parts of society to encourage children to make wiser choices about their health.

"There are no quick, easy answers to changing lifestyles but we must make the healthy choice the easy choice for children," she said.

"These healthy messages should not only come from the home but from within the community, schools, health professionals and government and non-government organisations."

- NZPA

NZ Food, NZ Children: Findings of the 2002 National Children's Nutrition Survey