Maori kids more likely to be obese

Media release
18 September 2007
Embargoed till 10am

Maori kids more likely to be obese

Maori children and young people are more like to be obese than other groups, Maori health provider Te Hotu Manawa Maori (THMM) said today in Wellington.

“For children, Maori and non-Maori males have a similar prevalence of obesity, but Maori females are one-and-a-half times more likely to be overweight than non-Maori females. Overall, the prevalence of obesity in Maori children was twice that of non-Maori children,” Nutrition Manager Leonie Matoe said.

THMM has been working closely with the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) which is calling for a ban on all television advertising for foods and beverages during children’s programmes.

The call follows the release of a report showing food and beverage advertising has a significant effect on what food children like, buy, ask for and eat. The report, Would you like lies with that?, looks at the influence of food and beverage television advertising on children’s health.

“Given what we already know about Maori children and obesity this means our children are especially vulnerable when it comes to food and beverage television advertising.”

With the assistance of OAC, THMM has been developing a toolkit on Maori nutrition for Maori health providers.

“We’re starting our battle against Maori obesity by raising awareness about its causes. Research clearly tells us that Maori are more likely to live in the most deprived areas of the country, where it is more difficult to access healthy food. These areas are also more likely to have a high presence of fast food outlets.”

THMM will launch their toolkit at their national conference in Ngaruawahia next month.

“We applaud the efforts of OAC to reduce the harmful impact of television advertising on children.” Leonie Matoe said.

Contact: Leonie Matoe 021 797 500, Anton Blank 021 406 031

Fact Sheet
Maori obesity and access to food

• In 1999 57% of Maori men and 61% of Maori women were obese. For children, Maori and non-Maori males have a similar prevalence of obesity, but Maori females are one-and-a-half times more likely to be overweight than non-Maori females. Overall, the prevalence of obesity in Maori children is twice that of non-Maori children
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• In 2002 a survey of children’s nutrition showed that 33.6% of Maori households could afford to eat properly “sometimes” compared to 12.1% of the general population. In the same survey 37.5% of Maori households reported they ran out of food “sometimes” compared to 13% of the general population.
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• Research in 2004 showed that Maori are more likely to live in “food deserts” (areas with low access to cheap, healthy, acceptable, and readily available healthy foods). In the Lakes and Bay of Plenty regions schools with high Maori numbers were twice as likely to be within 100 meters of a fast food outlet.
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• A survey in Christchurch in 2006 showed that Maori were over-represented among food bank clients. Maori comprised 30% of all clients, despite only representing 7.2% of Christchurch’s population. There was a higher percentage of Maori in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.
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