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Nutrition and physical activity

Good nutrition, regular physical activity, and adequate sleep are important for maintaining health and wellbeing both now and in the future.

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Our nutrition and physical activity work focuses on:

  • supporting families with young children, particularly Māori, Pacific and low income families

  • promoting the guidelines to health professionals and to the nutrition and physical activity workforce.

We promote the Ministry of Health’s Eating and Activity Guidelines to health professionals and to people working in settings such as primary health care, community organisations, workplaces and schools. These guidelines also form the basis of our resources, tools and advice for consumers.

The Sit Less, Move More, Sleep Well: Active play guidelines for under-fives and the Sport New Zealand principles of play, both launched in 2017, provide guidance and recommendations about physical activity and the important role of active play. We help promote key messages from these documents to whānau with the aim of increasing children’s activity through active play. We provide tools and resources to the physical activity workforce and partner with organisations that are able to assist children to develop life skills through play. 

What does Te Hiringa Hauora do?

We partner with others to:

  • support New Zealanders to eat healthy foods
  • increase opportunities for New Zealanders to be active
  • provide advice for New Zealanders about the importance of sleep.
     

Learn more about our nutrition and physical activity work

Research and evaluation

We monitor key health indicators, behaviours and attitudes of nutrition and physical activity through the Health and Lifestyles Survey.

We also inform and evaluate activities, programmes and initiatives within our nutrition and physical activity work. 

View our nutrition and physical activity research publications
 

In your community

The Healthy Kids website is full of fun, free and low-cost ideas to help families eat, move and sleep well. It includes a colourful goal chart to keep track of progress. 

Healthy Kids helps busy whānau set goals and rewards to keep children motivated. A range of resources are available to share with your community, including your family, workplace, sports club, community group, or school.  

Order resources

 

Campaigns

Our promotional activity focuses on the needs of families with young children from Māori and Pacific families, and those with low income status. 

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