Obesity focus has many wrongly thinking they are fat

By JULIE MIDDLETON

A survey shows more New Zealanders than any other Asia-Pacific group consider themselves overweight - but they would seem to be overstating the case.

Some 67 per cent of New Zealanders who responded to an ACNielsen online survey in April and May believed they were a "little", "somewhat" or "very overweight".

Across the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, just 54 per cent of those surveyed feel the same.

But according to the Ministry of Health, 52 per cent of all Kiwi adults are overweight or obese, measured by the body mass index (BMI).

Some of the 950 New Zealanders surveyed would appear to be taking an overly negative view of their bodies - and commentators suggest that is because the media have focused much attention on the dangers of excess fats and poor nutrition, which can lead to a range of health problems.

"People are influenced by the media," says Alistair Watts, managing director of ACNielsen that carried out the survey.

He says New Zealanders' image of their own weight "may be fuelled by ongoing media interest in obesity".

Dietician Nikki Hart agrees, saying more information makes people more aware, "so they tend to appraise themselves more now than they ever used to".

This month the Government launched a $13 million campaign to combat obesity by encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables, and to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

Last month the Christchurch-based Eating Awareness Team reported a 50 per cent rise over the past year in the number of people seeking help for eating disorders. They attributed much of that to "scare tactics" used in anti-fat campaigns.

Mr Watts says New Zealanders are generally more health-conscious than their Asia-Pacific counterparts. People in other countries may not be as body-conscious as Kiwis, because other concerns - such as economic and security issues - take priority.

The survey also finds that 71 per cent of New Zealanders try to lose weight - from which you can presume that some don't really need to in a strict health sense, but want to.

A total of 28 per cent of those surveyed said they were trying to cut down on fats, and 25 per cent said they were planning to cut down on chocolate and sugar. Twelve per cent said they followed slimming programmes such as Weight Watchers.

We are not keen as a nation on the sorts of slimming pills popular in some Asian countries. Just 2 per cent of Kiwis said they used diet pills, compared with 12 per cent of Singaporeans.

The Asia Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey is an ongoing, six-monthly online project to track trends. In the latest round, the company trawled 13 Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia, China, Singapore and Indonesia, quizzing 9485 people.

The company says those surveyed were aged over 15 and the sample was balanced for age and gender, among other things. The margin of error for the New Zealand sample is plus or minus 4.5 per cent.

However, because the survey is self-selecting, says Mr Watts, readers need to bear in mind that people tend to "overclaim"."More people are likely to say they are overweight than underweight."

Working up a sweat

New Zealanders report exercising more than other populations in the Asia-Pacific region, with 44 per cent saying they work up a sweat at least three times a week, and 19 per cent claiming they exercise daily - more than twice the regional average of 8 per cent.

51 per cent of New Zealanders say they regularly walk or jog, 14 per cent work out or lift weights at a gym, and 3 per cent do aerobics.

Just 6 per cent report that they play team sport regularly, compared with 22 per cent of Chinese and 13 per cent of Hong Kong people.

74 per cent of Kiwis say they have never had a beauty treatment, but in Thailand, 39 per cent say they pamper themselves every week.

Source: The ACNielsen Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey