Healthy Eating - Healthy Action
Oranga Kai - Oranga Pumau

Newsletter
Issue 5, September 2007

In this issue:

• An Update from Dr Colin Feek
• Minister of Health Launches Food and Beverage Classification System Support Resources
• Building a Tips-Based Approach to Healthy Eating – from Community Promotions to a New Media Campaign
• Ministry of Health Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week
• Food Industry News…
• News from the HEHA Project Team...
• Sport Canterbury Promotes ‘Fruity Friday’ in Christchurch Schools
• DHB HEHA Project Manager Profile Introducing Wendy Donaldson…
• Mission-on News…
• Last Call for Nominations for Sparc Cycle-friendly Awards
• Library Corner
• Healthy Eating Healthy Action Tips

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An Update from Dr Colin Feek

Since the last HEHA Action Report was published in July, the Ministry’s HEHA Project team now has a new interim Deputy Director-General and is no longer a part of the former Public Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health.

I am the interim Deputy-Director General of the Sector Capability and Innovation Directorate,of which the HEHA Project team is now apart, alongside other Ministry initiatives like Primary Health Care delivery, tobacco policy and implementation, Maori service development, the Pacific provider development fund and oral health,for example.

You may or may not be aware of the Ministry’s Change and Development programme which got underway on 1 July. The changes support the Ministry to achieve a higher-performing health sector and will improve our service to the Minister of Health Pete Hodgson.

The Sector Capability and Innovation Directorate is responsible for working proactively with the sector to support implementation, build capacity and share innovations across the sector that support operationalising the Minister’s strategic priorities.

Some of you in the sector may already know me from previous roles at the Ministry of Health. I began in 1994 as the Chief Medical Advisor, and then in 2001 became the Deputy Director-General of Clinical Services. My background is in endocrinology and,after immigrating to New Zealand from the UK in 1987, I was a specialist endocrinologist at Wellington Hospital before joining the Ministry in 1994.Since the last HEHA Action Report was published in July, the Ministry’s HEHA Project team now has a new interim Deputy Director-General and is no longer a part of the former Public Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health.

I’m excited to now be part of the implementation of the Healthy Eating – Healthy Action Strategy. We do have a long way to go yet, but huge inroads are already being made, thanks to dedicated people in the health sector that share the Ministry’s goals of improving nutrition, increasing physical activity and reducing obesity.

The HEHA Project team remains busy with their heavy workload. Most of you will be aware that the Minister launched the support resources for the Food and Beverage Classification System in mid-July. This was a significant milestone for us at the Ministry and I’m sure for those of you working in the nutrition and physical activity sectors. All schools and early childhood education services around the country have now received their copies of the resources and we’ve had plenty of positive feedback from both the health and education sectors since the launch.

There are plenty of other exciting HEHA initiatives also getting underway and they are profiled in more detail in this issue of the HEHA Action Report.

Dr Colin Feek
Interim Deputy Director-General
Sector Capability and Innovation

Minister of Health Launches Food and Beverage Classification System Support Resources

All primary and secondary schools and early childhood education services have now received copies of the Ministry’s Food and Beverage Classification System support resources to help them make healthy choices when it comes to selecting food and drink options.

The package of support resources was launched by the Minister of Health Pete Hodgson in July at Massey High School in West Auckland – a school that has successfully removed 400 kilograms of sugar a month by eliminating the full-sugar fizzy and energy drinks, as part of the Waitemata District Health Board Beverage Classification System.

Small actions like removing full-sugar fizzy drinks and replacing them with water, milk and diet options can have huge effects on a school environment and the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Eating – Healthy Action Project team has already seen other schools and early childhood education (ECE) services also striving to provide healthy food and drink options to children.

HEHA Programme Manager Cynthia Maling says the Ministry is not banning any foods, but is simply promoting and encouraging the consumption of healthy food options in the education setting.

Cynthia says, “we hope the Food and Beverage Classification System actually increases the amount and variety of food and drink options available in the education setting. The support resources for schools include a User Guide and Catering Guidelines and ECE services have their own User Guide and a Recipe Book.”

“The Food and Beverage Classification System groups foods into three categories for consumption– everyday, sometimes and occasionally. We want schools and ECE services to work on removing the occasional foods from the menus. That’s foods high in fat and/or salt and sugar, for example,confectionary and chocolate, deep-fried foods,high-fat pastry products and full-sugar fizzy drinks.”

Cynthia says, “when we launched the support resources back in July, we were asked whether the Food and Beverage Classification System was going to be compulsory and if all schools and ECE services were required to implement it.

Recent changes to the Ministry of Education’s National Administration Guidelines will mean that in all state and state-integrated schools where food and beverages are sold on school premises,only healthy options will be made available from1 June 2008. Schools will also be required to promote healthy food and nutrition for all students.

Licensed ECE services are required to meet the nutritional needs of children who attend the service.Early childhood education service regulatory requirements are currently under review. It is proposed that this nutrition-related requirement continue,with the additional obligation for early childhood education services to encourage healthy eating guidelines when parents provide food for children to eat while at the service. The Food and Beverage Classification System will be a useful tool to help schools and ECE services meet regulatory obligations.

Cynthia Maling says at the moment, work is underway to create a product registration database which will be in the form of a website. This website will list products available for sale in New Zealand and will categorise them into the everyday,sometimes and occasional categories.

“This will make it very clear to canteen and kitchen staff just what is an ‘everyday’ food and what should be limited to once a term.”

A support programme will also be rolled out by the end of 2007. This will help canteen and kitchen staff in making healthy choices when it comes to the consumption of food and drinks.

Improving nutrition in the school and early childhood education settings is initiative one of Mission-On.Mission-On is a broad-based package of ten initiatives aimed at 0 to 24-year-olds, focusing on physical activity and nutrition. It helps children,young people and their families to make healthy choices and to improve their health outcomes.

All of the support resources for the Food and Beverage Classification System are available online at the Ministry of Health website – http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/heha-foodclassification

Building a Tips-Based Approach to Healthy Eating – from Community Promotions to a New Media Campaign

The strategy of offering simple, practical tips on healthy diets for children has been steadily gaining ground with audiences since the launch of the Feeding our Futures programme in May.

As Michelle Mako, Programme Manager explains;“we’ve received a lot of interest from parents,schools, and health promoters about how the tips and healthy eating messages can be used to support nutrition efforts with families and local communities.

“We know that achieving good nutrition for kids isn’t just a case of doing one thing well. Instead,good nutrition requires a variety of strategies to come together. That’s why we’ve focused on providing parents with a number of tips that they can select from, that will be easy to incorporate into their busy lives.”

The new social marketing programme also seeks to support the efforts of health promoters and those working in community nutrition by spotlighting important healthy eating messages at a national level. The HSC encourages organisations to explore ways the messages can be used to support local and regional activities. One recent example was seen at Eastgate Shopping Mall, at a healthy eating event for families run by Christchurch Community and Public Health. The event brought the messages ‘involve your child in food preparation’ and ‘make water or milk the first choice’ to life for children and their families (see overleaf for full story).

Initial results from consumer testing are encouraging, with parents showing support for the tips-based approach to healthy eating for families.In addition, parents are asking for more tips on ways they can continue to ensure healthy diets for children.

Following the launch of the campaign, the team is working on three new tips for parents that will appear on TV in October. These will run across regional radio, community papers, bus shelters and magazines. “The new messages will have a strong focus on fruit and vegetables, including a message about healthy snacks,” says Michelle.

The team is currently planning how the new tips will be supported by resources, and is keen to hear from organisations about fruit and vegetable resources that have been effective in helping parents improve their children’s diets. If you would like to talk to the HSC about this please email Hereni Coffin at hereni@hsc.org.nz

Local leadership for Feeding Our Futures

The Nutrition and Physical Activity Team of Christchurch’s Community and Public Health seized the opportunity to showcase Feeding our Futures at a local level through a promotional event at Eastgate Shopping Mall during the July school holidays.

Penny Wilson, Health Promoter for the Nutrition and Physical Activity Team says, “It was perfect timing and too good an opportunity to miss! The combination of the school holidays and the high visibility of the Feeding our Futures media campaign presented an ideal chance to really drive the messages home at a local level with the support of Eastgate.”

Eastgate Shopping Mall was chosen as a venue because it offers a good focal point for the east Christchurch area, which has a high proportion of Maori and Pacific families.

The promotion was set up in a central area beside the mall’s main information stand, which also borders the food court. The team utilised three large banners displaying images from the TV commercials to highlight the three current key messages of the Feeding our Futures campaign – the benefits of eating together regularly as a family, involving children in food preparation and providing water and milk instead of sugary drinks.

Hands-on activities included make-your own fruit kebabs and sandwiches, cooking demonstrations and taste testings, and supermarket tours. Children demonstrated strong interest in taking part, especially having the creative freedom to choose what to put in their sandwiches!

Qualified dieticians from the team ran half hourly supermarket tours to teach people how to read and understand food labels and how to make healthy choices.

Samples of vege stir-fries and vegetable soup proved a big hit, with six woks of vegetables and five litres of soup being consumed.Fruit smoothies were also well received.

Visitors were given a variety of recipes to take home with them, to help put ideas into practice and carry on the inspiration. The event helped forge community links and contacts – for example,there were requests to support an out of school programme and to do a healthy eating talk at a local Pacific Island church.

If you are feeling inspired to run a similar promotion in your local community, you can contact Penny Wilson at penny.wilson@cdhb.govt.nz or contact Hereni Coffin in the Feeding our Futures team at hereni@hsc.org.nz

Feeding Our Futures resources now available to order online

Free printed resources (posters and information cards) and information about other merchandise,including a CD of the TV ads, are now available on our website. Plus look out for the new recipes section for meals that are easy to prepare, low-cost and great to make with the help of kids. Just visit www.feedingourfutures.org.nz

Getting kids cooking on the TV

The message ‘get kids involved in food preparation’has been receiving great support through TV cooking activities recently. Public Health Nutritionist Bronwen King appeared on Good Morning TV during August creating healthy recipes that are ideal to make with kids. Prior to that Chef Rick Rutledge-Manning appeared on Good Morning in July for Feeding our Futures, making a number of healthy recipes with the help of kids. Look out for all recipes from these TV shows on the Feeding our Futures website: http://www.feedingourfutures

Ministry of Health Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

As the Ministry of Health celebrated World Breastfeeding Week last month, Kiwis were also reminded that breastfeeding is the normal, natural way to feed their babies. Breastfeeding is part of laying the foundations for a healthy life from infancy and childhood and a really important tool to improve the health outcomes for New Zealanders.

Dr Debbie Ryan, Chief Advisor of Pacific Health says the Ministry has plenty of strategies, programmes and initiatives underway to support breastfeeding, including implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and publishing a new document about the International Code in New Zealand.

Dr Ryan says the publication Implementing and Monitoring the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in New Zealand: The Code in New Zealand includes the Code of Practice for Health Workers and the New Zealand Infant Formula Marketers’ Association Code of Practice for the Marketing of Infant Formula and is now a single,standard reference document.

“The Code in New Zealand ensures health workers protect, promote and support breastfeeding, giving clear, consistent and accurate information about the importance of breastfeeding and create a breastfeeding friendly environment in their organisation. It also means that infant formula shouldn’t be marketed in New Zealand, and followon formula shouldn’t be marketed in a way that undermines breastfeeding.”

She says, “The Health Workers Code, included in the revised publication, also requires health workers to meet their obligation to give detailed information and advice to parents, caregivers and families of breastfed and formula-fed infants on infant feeding. As the Ministry of Health celebrated World Breastfeeding Week last month, Kiwis were also reminded that breastfeeding is the normal, natural way to feed their babies. Breastfeeding is part of laying the foundations for a healthy life from infancy and childhood and a really important tool to improve the health outcomes for New Zealanders.

We know that there are some instances where mothers do not breastfeed and The Code in New Zealand ensures that mums have access to adequate information about breast-milk substitutes (e.g. infant formula) to make decisions for their baby, based on impartial information and free of commercial influences.”

The publication of The Code in New Zealand is the latest in a range of initiatives by the Ministry of Health to promote, protect and support breastfeeding, including the revision of the Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Infants andToddlers (Aged 0-2): A background paper draft document which is now available on the Ministry’s website. These guidelines provide a best practice guide for infant and young child feeding and give information about the ingredients, composition and use of formula. The guidelines can be used as a companion document to The Code in New Zealand.

For more information on the Code in New Zealand,and Food and Nutrition Guidelines see the Ministry of Health website nutrition page: www.moh.govt.nz/nutrition

Later this year a national breastfeeding promotion campaign will get underway to increase the number of New Zealand babies who are breastfed and increase the length of time they’re breastfed for. Meanwhile, the National Breastfeeding Advisory Committee (NBAC) is developing a national breastfeeding strategic plan to present to the Director-General of Health later this year.

The overall vision for the national breastfeeding promotion campaign is that every child’s opportunity to be breastfed is promoted and supported by families, health systems, workplaces, communities and society as a whole.

The campaign plan highlights three key systems within which interventions should be targeted –the health system, whanau/family and communities and workplaces. Within these systems we need to increase the responsiveness to Maori and Pacific peoples and deliver services in a way that is effective for these groups.

Under the plan there will be specific activities to achieve the following three objectives:

• to increase tangible support to aid mothers to breastfeed
• to increase emotional support to aid mothers to breastfeed
• to increase informational support to aid mothers to breastfeed.

“Maori and Pacific peoples have been identified as the key priority groups for the campaign, but the campaign, once rolled out, will reach high-needs groups of all ethnicities.”

Debbie says although New Zealand has breastfeeding rates at birth that are consistent with other OECD countries, rates are lower at six weeks,especially among Maori and Pacific women. The national breastfeeding promotion campaign is an important opportunity to contribute to efforts to improve the long-term health of the population and reduce health inequalities between population groups.

The Baby Friendly Hospital and Community Initiatives have been established to increase breastfeeding rates by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding. The New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority holds the contract with the Ministry of Health to assess and accredit maternity facilities for the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and important progress has already been made. At the beginning of this year, 70% of maternity facilities in New Zealand were accredited.By the end of 2007, the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority hopes that will rise to 95%. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global campaign of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The goal is to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding. The Government requires that all maternity facilities are BFHI accredited.

The Baby Friendly Community Initiative also aims to protect, promote and support breastfeeding for healthy mothers and babies. It has been developed for use in the community by adapting the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. The New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority also has the responsibility of implementing the Baby Friendly Community Initiative, which is already being piloted in five District Health Board (DHB) regions – Hawke’s Bay, Counties Manukau, Waitemata, Wairarapa and Nelson/Marlborough. DHBs have a significant role to play in supporting the Baby Friendly Initiative.

There are three main objectives for the Baby Friendly Community Initiative:

• increasing the percentage of babies who are breastfed
• increasing the duration of exclusive breastfeeding
• sustaining breastfeeding after six months alongside the introduction of appropriate, adequate and safe complementary foods.

Meanwhile, Kiwi mums took part in the Big World Wide Latch On, on Wednesday 8 August, as part of the celebrations during World Breastfeeding Week. Beginning at 10am in New Zealand, 907 breastfeeding mums in about 100 different locations around the country broke the New Zealand record of the most women breastfeeding simultaneously.

For more information about breastfeeding in the workplace, refer to the Department of Labour and Women’s Health Action websites.

Stop Press

New Zealand has become the World Breastfeeding Champion of the World until another country achieves a higher national score of sbm/tbb (simultaneously breastfeeding mothers per thousand babies born). The Philippines, the winner for 2006, graciously passes the torch to New Zealand.

Food Industry News…

Making healthier bread, pies and chips are just three of many food industry projects on the goat present which have the goal of improving the nutrition intake of New Zealanders.

All projects involve working within the Healthy Eating – Healthy Action parameters and the goals of the Food Industry Group,
in accordance with the Food Industry Accord.The projects are examples of food industry and health professionals working together to help find solutions for healthier New Zealanders.

The good old kiwi pie is something many New Zealanders have enjoyed for decades. So making sure they are good quality and low in fat is vital. Some specific pie manufacturers have spent considerable time and effort recently in finding ways of changing their recipe ingredients along with the making and baking methods so that the finished product has considerably less fat, salt and energy levels compared with others pies available. Many of these reformulated products now have saturated fat levels below 7.5 g per 100 grams with some at the 5% mark. Some of the pies which have been reformulated are able to be sold in the ‘sometimes’category under the new Food and Beverage Classification System.

To encourage other pie manufacturers to also reduce the fat and salt in their pies, and increase their quality, The Pie Group has been set up. It is just completing its terms of reference. Members include not only baking industry representatives, ingredient suppliers, pie manufacturers, BIANZ and the Food Industry Group, but also the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand, Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) and an observer member from the Ministry of Health.

Making healthier bread, pies and chips are just three of many food industry projects on the goat present which have the goal of improving the nutrition intake of New Zealanders.

New Zealanders love bread. However a quarter of our sodium intake comes from bread and New Zealanders’ average sodium intake is over a double what it should be on a daily basis. For this reason, the Heart Foundation is working on a food reformulation project behind the scenes with two major food manufacturers who are committed to reducing salt in their low-cost white breads. The aim is to reduce the sodium content of some of these higher volume and low cost products to a target of 450mg per 100grams for bread.

Another group, The Chip Group, was formed with a major objective of reducing the national average fat content of hot chips. Their target is a 20% reduction from a national average of 11.5%to an average of 9.2%.Using Best Practice Frying Recommendations and The Crisco Oils Best Chip Shop Competition, the Group is getting its information through to the large number of operators in the country and achieving great results. In the 2006 competition the fat content of the chips of the 76 finalists averaged 9.05% with all of them selling chips below the national average. This is a tremendous effort and outcome for the group.A comprehensive survey was undertaken in April to gain an accurate picture of the chip industry.After industry consultation, Industry standards have been established for independent takeaway operators. A strategy to disseminate these standards is being finalised.

All of these projects create wins not only for the food industry but also for consumers.

This article was submitted by Vicki Hamilton, on behalf of the Food Industry Group.

News from the HEHA Project Team...

Community Obesity Prevention Project

Budget 2007 saw the allocation of $5 million to establish the Community Obesity Prevention Project,which will go towards funding community-based projects focused on obesity, nutrition and physical activity for Maori and Pacific peoples.

The project will be included in Crown Funding Agreement variations with District Health Boards (DHBs) for 2007/08 and out-years.

Since the budget announcement, the HEHA Project team has set up a Pacific stakeholder group and a Maori stakeholder group (made up of providers,funding and planning staff from DHBs and nutrition and physical activity experts) to discuss the components of the Crown Funding Agreement.

Guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity

Guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity are being developed, which will recommend best practice to clinicians and public health professionals on the management of overweight and obesity in both children and adults.

A Guidelines Steering Group has been formed to help inform the development of the guidelines,which are due for completion next year.

The Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) of the University of Auckland has been contracted to undertake a review of the evidence base for the national guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity to inform their development.

Members of the Guidelines Steering Group have been selected and recently met for the first time,with a presentation from the CTRU. They include:

Prof Peter Crampton (Chair)
Prof Barry Taylor
Dr Teuila Percival
Dr Ate Moala
Hiki Pihema
Dr Simon Mayhew
Dr Jane Elmslie
Kawshi De Silva
Dr Jeremy Krebs
Mary-Anne Cameron
Diana O Neill
Mr Phillip Morreau
Mr Rob Fris
Teresa Wall
Dr Debbie Ryan
Dr Pat Tuohy
Dr Sandy Dawson

HEHA DHB Evaluation Fund

The Ministry’s DHB Evaluation Fund was established earlier this year to provide funding for evaluating nutrition and physical activity initiatives.

Evaluating the success of HEHA initiatives will develop an evidence base of what works and what doesn’t, to support improved nutrition, increased physical activity and reduced obesity.

The fund provides $1.6 million a year to DHBs only.The initiatives evaluated don’t have to be DHB-led ,however DHB’s must manage the evaluation process.

The first round of funding was held earlier in the year and ten initiatives have been selected through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to receive funding.

They are as follows:

• Dunedin City Council Play Strategy, Otago DHB
• Tongan Community Action Project – Phase 2, Canterbury DHB
• Project Replace – One Step at a time TAMA TU, TAMA ORA (He who stands lives), Bay of Plenty DHB
• Pathway to Health –an Active Communities initiative in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Bay of Plenty DHB
• WAVE (Well-being and Vitality South in Education), Canterbury DHB
• Grab a Bite That’s Right, Whanganui DHB
• Active Massey, Waitemata DHB
• Korikori A Iwi – Whakawhiti Ora Pai,
• Te Hauora o Te Hiku o Te Ika, Te Runanga o Te Rarawa, Ngati Hine Health Trust, Kia Ora Ngati Wai, Northland DHB
• Green Prescription Communities, Northland DHB
• Shake it, Beat it, Learn it, Capital and Coast DHB

A second round of funding will be carried out this financial year with applications due by 12 November,2007. Contact your DHB HEHA Project Manager for further details.

Update on HEHA research and evaluation

The Ministry contracted SHORE/Whariki at Massey University to undertake five three-day HEHA Easy Evaluation Workshops around the country. Initial feedback from the training has been very positive.We are considering what further support can be implemented to develop evaluation capacity.The workshops were held in Auckland, Hamilton,Wellington and Christchurch. It was unfortunate that the Northland Workshop was unable to beheld due to flooding.

The Ministry of Health has contracted a consortium of researchers/evaluators to conduct a detailed scoping of the HEHA Strategy evaluation in collaboration with the Ministry. These include the University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University, Auckland University of Technology and Ngati Porou Hauora, led by Professor JimMann (Centre for Translational Research in Chronic Disease, based at University of Otago) and Jackie Cumming (Health Services Research Centre,Victoria University of Wellington). This scoping project is scheduled for completion in November.It will be followed by the implementation of the plan. Consortium members will consult a range of stakeholders to inform the scoping development.

Meanwhile, scoping is underway to develop a Research and Evaluation Database. SPARC and the Ministry of Health are undertaking this as a joint project. The purpose of this project is to create and maintain an up-to-date New Zealand database of Healthy Eating – Healthy Action (HEHA) related research and evaluation literature (published,unpublished (grey) and in-progress). The database will be accessible and useful to providers, researchers,and policy makers and will enable the identification of potential gaps in research and evaluation. The database may be expanded by SPARC to include sport and exercise science literature. The database will enable easier access to NZ-related research and evaluation that may not have been published, and enable contacts and linkages to be made within and with the research and evaluation sector.

Sport Canterbury Promotes ‘Fruity Friday’ in Christchurch Schools

Sport Canterbury has come up with a fun initiative to sell the Healthy Eating – Healthy Action message to Christchurch Schools – ‘Fruity Friday!’

So far, two schools have held a ‘Fruity Friday’, where students come to school dressed in the colour of their favourite fruit, then take part in a range of activities throughout the day, linking physical activity to healthy eating.

The brainchild behind the idea is Sport Canterbury’s Active Schools facilitator Gill Holland. Gill says her aim was to think of a simple idea which schools could easily work with and repeat throughout the year. More schools are set to hold a ‘Fruity Friday’in the coming months.

“Having been a primary school teacher myself,I was able to help schools plan the day and give them lots of fun ideas for cross-curricular activities which linked physical activity to healthy eating.”

Gill says at the very first ‘Fruity Friday’ at Linwood Avenue School, triathlete Rebecca Wardell came and spoke to the children about the importance of regular training and eating healthily. A fruity balloon launch was held at lunchtime where children simultaneously let go of balloons with messages attached to them. The popular children’s television show ‘What Now’ also came in the afternoon and judged a fruity hat competition. Because Linwood Avenue School is also part of the Fruit in Schools Programme, the children used the fruit for that day to create fruity treats such as fruit kebabs.

“‘Fruity Friday’ shows children that physical activity and healthy eating can be fun and are both necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Children learn the most when they enjoy what they are doing.”

Gill hopes that the children involved in Sport Canterbury’s ‘Fruity Friday’ will go home and tell their parents about the day which will educate them as well.

Gill says the two schools who have held a ‘Fruity Friday’ – Linwood Avenue School and Bromley School – are part of Sport Canterbury’s Active Schools programme. The aim of Active Schools is to create a positive physical activity culture within schools. Sport Canterbury is working with 13 schools and their communities to make more children, more active, more often.

Ideas for a ‘Fruity Friday’

• Fruit games where the teams are named after pieces of fruit. The team games can be anything from simple relay races involving hopping/skipping/jumping and running.
• Fruit card snap – children are given a name of a piece of fruit and have to find their fruity partner.
• An activity where the children make fresh fruit salad/smoothies or juices, with help from parents.
• Fruity acrostic poetry – e.g. APPLE =Active People Practice Lots of Events.
• Children could design fruity sports shoes/T-Shirts– which could then actually be produced.

DHB HEHA Project Manager Profile Introducing Wendy Donaldson…

Wendy Donaldson says she’s having to prioritise her own physical activity into her life for the first time in 22 years, with her new role as Lakes DHB HEHA Project Manager.

She says sitting for hours on end at the computer and being inactive for long periods of time is difficult for her as she has always been passionate about exercise. In her last job as Head of Department of Physical Education and Health at Te Puke High School, Wendy took 18,000 steps in a day, but since starting at Lakes DHB in April, this has dwindled to 5000 steps.

Prior to commencing her DHB HEHA Project Manager role, the past few years have been spent playing representative netball and basketball,teaching PE/Health and coaching many different school sports teams. Wendy now does step aerobics classes and resistance training for her own fitness and energy.

“I have seen many school students discover‘exercise’ and have turned their lives around as a result. The force of fitness! In my teaching and leading of a department I always followed by the principles of Mason Durie’s Hauora. The subjects of health and physical education are all dependent on the 4 dimensions of hauora – physical, mental,spiritual and social. They are all so interwoven I always tried to teach in that way.”

Wendy says after 22 years of teaching in five different schools, raising three children and years of farming,having the chance to work at a community level to spread the HEHA message is exciting.

“The key work for me with this project has been in establishing the community involvement by linking with existing networks and forming stakeholder groups.The amount of HEHA activity going on in our Rotorua/Taupo/Turangi/Mangakino/ Reporoa communities is amazing. There are many dedicated people out there delivering the message of ‘get involved’.”

She says the key HEHA stakeholder group will create a ‘Lakes vision’ for the HEHA Project and a local three year action plan. A Maori consultation plan is being scoped with the assistance of a Maori stake-holder group. The nutrition and physical activity stocktake of initiatives will enable the stakeholder groups to establish what is happening now and what the gaps are.

Profiling Reporoa College...

Prime Minister Helen Clark officially opened the school canteen at Reporoa College on 11 May this year.

Reporoa College, located halfway between Rotorua and Taupo, has taken a leaf out of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s book – providing $5 hot meals for students five days a week.

Wendy says Reporoa College is the first nonboarding school in New Zealand to offer hot meals to its students.

She says because the focus was on healthy eating, Reporoa College doesn’t have fat fryers. Although fish and chips are still on the menu, they are ovenbaked instead of deep-fried.

“It is a successful working example of a whole school/community approach to health promotion.The canteen/healthy food project was not just an isolated project, it was part of a holistic approach taken by the school and community. The initiatives in place at Reporoa College are sustainable because they have local community ownership.

The canteen food served at Reporoa College follows the Ministry of Education’s recommended Food and Nutrition for Healthy, Confident Kids Guidelines.

Mission-on News…

Student Health Promotion

Minister of Health Pete Hodgson kicked off InitiativeTwo of the Mission-On campaign ‘Student Health Promotion’ at St James School in Christchurch at the end of June.

St James School was chosen for the launch of the initiative for their achievements in creating a healthy food environment and delivering healthy eating messages to their students, parents, whanau and the whole school community.

The student health promotion initiative involves a series of high profile events that promote food options and provide incentive and opportunities for students to get actively involved in learning about healthy nutrition.

Since the initial launch event at St James School, other similar events have been held around the country at Waitakere College, Wanganui Girls College, De La Salle College in Auckland and Mountainview High School in Timaru.

Schools have been selected to host such events based on their commitment to healthy eating and physical activity and the achievements they have made.

A programme of events continues over the next few months.

Lifestyle Ambassador at work

Students at Massey High School in West Auckland were treated to a special visit by Mission-On lifestyle ambassador and former Silver Fern Bernice Meneon July 17, as the Minister of Health Pete Hodgson launched the support resources for the Food and Beverage Classification System.

Improving nutrition in the school and early childhood education settings is Initiative One of Mission-On.

Bernice Mene chatted to Massey High students and staff and was interviewed by various media about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.

All schools and ECE services now have their own copy of the support resources and many have already begun working towards change to make healthy choices the right choices.

Bernice Mene is one of a number of lifestyle ambassadors who are working to promote healthy lifestyles and modelling healthy positive lifestyles.Other 2007 lifestyle ambassadors include John Campbell, Keven Mealamu, Indira Moala, Laura Langman, Nathan Rarere, Spacifix, Footnote and Mervyn.

Last Call for Nominations for Sparc Cycle-friendly Awards

There’s only about two weeks left to nominate your favourite cycling projects or people in the SPARC Cycle-Friendly Awards 2007.

The Cycle-Friendly Awards are designed to acknowledge and celebrate some of the most notable achievements in the country that are helping to promote cycling and to create a cyclefriendly environment. The awards were devised by the Cycling Advocates’ Network (CAN), the national organisation promoting everyday cycling,and are sponsored by SPARC.

Nominations are currently being called for in five different categories. They include:
1. Avanti Award for Best Cycle Facility Project
2. Land Transport NZ Award for Best Cycling Promotion
3. Land Transport NZ Award for Cycle-Friendly Commitment by Business
4. ViaStrada Award for Cycle-Friendly Commitment by Public Organisation
5. Roger Boulter Consulting Award for Cycling Champion of the Year

Projects need to have been undertaken or completed between January 2006 and June 2007.

The Roger Boulter Consulting Award for Cycling Champion of the Year is a new category for 2007.This award is designed to recognise the contributions made by individual New Zealanders to the promotion of cycling.

SPARC Cycle-Friendly Awards coordinator Gaz Sanvicens says, “many Kiwis will know of an organisation, an individual or a project that’s made a real difference for them as a cyclist. It’s really simple to nominate them for a Cycle-Friendly Award.”

“The prizewinners will be announced at a ceremony on the 1st of November in Napier, by the Minister of Transport Annette King. The awards ceremony coincides with the New Zealand Cycling Conference.”

Gaz says last year’s winners included the Christchurch Little River Trail, the Bike Wise national family fun ride event and a company providing lockable bike sheds, showers, clothes lockers and drying racks. The Canterbury University cyclefriendly sustainable transport initiative also took out a category in the 2006 awards.

Nominations for the 2007 SPARC Cycle-Friendly Awards are due by Friday 14 September.Nomination forms can be downloaded from www.can.org.nz/awards and should be completedand emailed to awards@can.org.nz or posted toCAN, SPARC Cycle-Friendly Awards 2007, PO Box 6491, Auckland.

Library Corner

The following include the latest publications and articles in the HEHA arena:

Articles:

The current edition of The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) newsletter examines the relationship between sport and public health.

Despite sports of all kinds emerging over the last 50 years, we’ve seen a steep decline in the amount of time allocated to sport and physical activity.People are less active than they were, and this is playing havoc with our health. So wouldn’t it seem logical that the connection between sport and public health would be as tight as a rugby scrum? That public health strategies would include sports and active recreation as an important element in tackling obesity and other health issues? Unfortunately,it isn’t happening to the degree necessary and although mutual understanding between the sectors is increasing, there remains much work to be done.In this issue of VicHealth Letter we explore some of the challenges of a public health/sport partnership.We also highlight some of the best examples of how sport is attracting more participants and promoting healthy environments – source www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/vichealthletter/

Australian academic Dr Michael Gard and theScottish Council Foundation (SCF) published a reporton the 24th of July examining issues in the currentobesity epidemic debate.

Book:

Obesity and Public Policy: Thinking clearly and treading carefully critically examines the evidence about the causes and consequences of obesity.

Healthy Eating Healthy Action Tips

Healthy Eating is...

Making water or milk the first choice for drinks is the best option. Water is best – it’s cheap and easy to get. Keep a jug of cold water in the fridge or on your desk at work. Milk is a good drink for children because it’s highly nutritious and a good option to serve after or between meals.

Healthy Action is...

Physical activity doesn’t have to involve lycra and trainers, how about dance classes or just going out dancing – hip hop, cultural dance, rock ‘n roll,ballroom, latin, ceroc, line or other forms of dance are great fun, social, and good exercise too. Checkout your Yellow Pages for courses in your area.

Contact Details

We would love to get your feedback on this bi-monthly newsletter and, of course,to hear how HEHA is being implemented in your respective regions. Please send your contributions to heha@moh.govt.nz