PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Cancer Society considers efforts to encourage physical activity, reduce obesity and improve nutrition to be one of its key strategic objectives of cancer prevention.
Physical Activity and Nutrition Objectives
- To advocate for healthy public policy, interventions and resources that promote physical activity and nutrition.
- To support programmes that acknowledge and reduce inequalities in cancer that are related to physical activity and nutrition, for Maori, and by age, gender, socio-economic position and/or ethnicity.
- To promote change in environments, populations and individuals that lead to appropriate physical activity, nutrition and a healthy weight
- To support NZ research and use evidence at all levels of work, from developing policies and programmes to evaluating the effectiveness of programmes.
- To continue working cooperatively with other agencies, including Agencies for Nutrition Action (ANA), National Heart Foundation, Fight the Obesity Epidemic (FOE), Obesity Action Coalition, SPARC, Pacific Island Heartbeat, Food Industry particularly the Fruit and Vegetable industry,and the Health Sponsorship Council (HSC).
Current Activities
The Cancer Society continues to lobby the Government with a current emphasis on restrictions on food advertising to children and increasing access to fruit and vegetables. The Society is working with the Peak Group - Diabetes New Zealand, the Heart Foundation, the Stroke Foundation and Te Hotu Manawa Maori - to increase the effectivity of this work.
Further work is planned to increase public awareness of the links between cancer, physical activity and nutrition.
Past Achievements
- Physical Activity and Nutrition Road Show: The Cancer Society held a national road show in the six regional centres across New Zealand in June/July 2006. This seminar series was aimed at health professionals, and speakers included John Coveney and Kathy Chapman from Australia, teamed with a local speaker in each region.
- Advocacy: The Cancer Society considers that advocacy and lobbying are one of its key roles as a Non-Government Organisation (NGO). Recent submissions include providing input:
- on the Review of Children’s and Food Advertising Codes
- on the Food Standard Australia New Zealand Draft Assessment Report Proposal P293 on Nutrition, Health and Related Claims.
- to the Health Select Committee on the Obesity and Type Two Diabetes Inquiry in New Zealand
The Cancer Society continues the lobby the Government to ensure the promotion of fruit and vegetables are a key component of the Government funded nutrition public awareness raising campaign. Funding for this campaign has been identified and preliminary work undertaken.
The Cancer Society has monitored the growing evidence for links between nutrition and physical activity and various forms of cancer over the past two decades. In the early 1990s the Society carried out an awareness-raising campaign, the Fit Food Campaign for four years.
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