Lack of exercise and unhealthy eating are two of the main causes of obesity
While biological factors influence obesity rates, it doesn't explain why obesity has increased so dramatically recently. Changes in our society over the past 20 years have made it easy for us to lead a sedentary lifestyle. It's also tempting and cheaper to eat high fat and high energy food.
Many young New Zealanders don't get enough exercise
- A third of NZ 5-17 year-olds are inactive in their spare time.
- The proportion of those doing no physical activity each week has risen from nearly 8% in 1997 to nearly 13% in 2001.
- About 50% are transported to and from school.
- These trips almost doubled between 1990 and 1998.
- 13% of NZ children are inactive in the weekend.
NZ children aged 11-14 years watch a lot of TV:
- More than 25% watch TV or videos for 2 or more hours a day.
- 7.4% of boys and 7.1% of girls watch more than 20 hours a week.
A lot of advertising during children's TV is for junk food.
- A 1999 NZ study showed that two-thirds of food advertisements during children's TV time encouraged young people to eat food high in fat or sugar.
- A 2003 Australian study showed that over 99% of food advertisements during children's summer holiday TV programmes were for junk food.
- For every $1 that WHO spends on trying to improve the nutrition of the world's population, the food industry spends $500 on promoting processed foods.
People who watch too much TV risk getting fatter:
- An Australian study found that adults who watched lots of TV and had little physical activity were more likely to be obese.
- 25% of US 8-16 year-olds watch at least 4 hours of TV a day. They are fatter than those watching fewer than 2 hours.
Unhealthy eating habits are our undoing
We eat too much fatty food:
- Our food is high in fat and we are eating more ready-to-eat food.
- From 1961-1995, we had the most butter and meat fat in our diet of all OECD countries.
Sugar-sweetened drinks are more popular:
- Soft drink consumption increased 45% in New Zealand over a five year period.
- We are the 11th biggest soft-drink consumers in the world, per capita.
- Half of NZ children report consuming soft drinks at least once a week.
Many young New Zealanders eat too much of the wrong food:
- Less than 50% eat the daily recommended amount of fruit.
- Just over 50% eat enough vegetables a day.
- NZ children eat more than the ideal amount of saturated fat.
- NZ children get almost half their sugar intake from soft drinks, sugar and sweets.
Portions are larger:
- Children are likely to overeat if given large portions.
- Hamburgers in the US are 112% bigger than 20 years ago.
- Pasta servings in the US are 480% larger than 20 years ago.
More facts:
- Our children are among the fattest in the world
- Adult obesity is high in NZ and likely to increase
- Being overweight increases the risk of premature illness and death
- Obesity and related diseases will lead to dramatically increased health costs
Back to "Obesity - The Facts" homepage
References
Physical activity rates
Factors Contributing to Obesity. CDC
Trends in Sport and Active Leisure 1997-2001. SPARC, August 2003
NZ Food NZ Children, November 2003
New Zealand Travel Survey 1997/98
Dawson, K., Hamlin, M., Ross, J. and Duffy, D. Trends in health-related physical fitness of 10-14 year old New Zealand children, Journal of Physical Education 34(1):26-39, 2001
Physical Activity Levels Among Children Aged 9-13 Years, United States, 2002
Health of Young People (1995-1997), Chapter 8. Health Development Agency, 1998
Prevention of Paediatric Overweight and Obesity.
Unhealthy eating
NZ Food NZ Children, November 2003
The New Zealand food supply and diet trends 1961-95 and comparison with other OECD countries.
NZ Food: NZ People - Key Results of the 1997 National Nutrition Survey
Household Economic Survey. Statistics NZ
Relation Between Consumption of Sugar-sweetened Drinks and Childhood Obesity: a Prospective, Observational Analysis. Ludwig, Peterson, Gortmaker, The Lancet, February 17, 2001
Replacing sugar-based soft drinds with sugar-free alternatives could slow the progress of the obesity epidemic: have your CokeŽ and drink it too. Chako, Emme. NZMJ October 2003
Childhood obesity: a nutrition perspective (PDF)
The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic
NZ Food NZ Children, November 2003
Review of research on the effects of food promotion to children. Main report. Food Standards Agency, 2003 (pdf) Summary
Food ads on TV: a health hazard for children? Aust N Z J Public Health. 1999 Dec; 23(6):647-50
Childhood obesity: a nutrition perspective (PDF)
Average time spent viewing per day for children. NZ Television Broadcasters Council
