New Zealanders want more regulation to ensure school food is healthy, a survey indicates.
Almost 80 per cent of those polled were in favour of the Government requiring all schools to implement a health food policy. The same proportion also supported restricting the use of junk food and fizzy drinks as fundraisers.
The Government scrapped a ban on the sale of unhealthy food at school tuck shops in 2009 on the grounds schools should not have to be "food police".
In repealing the regulation brought in by Labour, it said instead schools were required "to promote healthy food and drink" - something the Heart Foundation says only 60 per cent are currently doing.
The Horizon Research Poll on healthy food was carried out for the University of Auckland and funded by the Heart Foundation and the Cancer Society of Auckland.
Only 22 per cent of respondents thought the Government should not intervene on both food in schools and fundraising.
Professor Boyd Swinburn, who specialises in population nutrition at the University of Auckland said it seemed the public thought the idea was a "no-brainer" and it made sense to have schools as role models as part of an approach aimed at reducing childhood obesity.
New Zealand has the third highest rate of adult obesity in the OECD behind Mexico and the United States. At least 10 per cent of pupils are obese and more than 20 per cent are overweight.
Professor Swinburn said while many New Zealand schools had programmes to promote healthy food to their school community, statistics from the Heart Foundation showed 40 per cent were not engaged in any voluntary healthy food scheme.
