New initiative promotes eating fruit and vegetable

New initiative promotes eating fruit and vegetables

The Cancer Society of New Zealand and New World supermarkets have launched LiveSmart, an initiative aimed at helping decrease the rates of cancer in New Zealanders.

The campaign, which was officially launched by the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, at Parliament last night (2 October), promotes healthy eating and lifestyles by providing in-store ideas and recipes that show how easy it is to add fruit and vegetables to day-to-day living.

John Loof, Chief Executive, Cancer Society Auckland says eating more fruit and vegetables is vital to improving the health of our population and reducing the incidence of some cancers.

“Research is telling us that people who eat lots of fruit and vegetables, are active and keep a healthy weight, have less risk of getting some cancers, such as cancers of the mouth, stomach and bowel. ”

“The Cancer Society is partnering with Foodstuffs (owners of New World supermarkets) to promote LiveSmart in New World stores because the supermarket is the ideal setting to encourage consumers to eat more fruit and vegetables,” he says.

Steve Anderson, Chief Executive, Foodstuffs South Island says New World is proud to be helping New Zealanders to live smarter, by promoting healthy eating throughout its 129 New World stores nationwide.

“By increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed, LiveSmart helps improve our odds against getting some cancers while also addressing other health issues around obesity and poor nutrition. LiveSmart is also a perfect example of how the Food Industry Accord is working in practice.”

LiveSmart has been developed in response to research examining the barriers to why people are not eating enough fruit and vegetables, which revealed that it is a lack of knowledge about how to use the products as well as cost.

“LiveSmart makes adding fruit and vegetables to people’s diets easier by providing tips and recipes for how to prepare tasty meals and snacks with fruit and vegetables in the relevant areas in the stores. And what is great, is that the frozen and many canned alternatives are equally as good for you,” said Mr Anderson.

LiveSmart initially began as a Cancer Society web-based initiative which has information and advice on how to lead a healthier more active life. By visiting http://www.livesmart.org.nz people can sign up for weekly coaching tips which are delivered directly to an email account.

“LiveSmart encourages people to make simple, small changes, to their lifestyle and making healthy food choices is just one part of the programme,” says John Loof, Chief Executive, Cancer Society Auckland.

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