Sports Minister Urges Kiwis to Adopt a More Active Lifestyle

The Minister of Sport, Fitness and Leisure Hon Murray McCully has endorsed a report from a special Taskforce urging Kiwis to become more active.

The Taskforce, chaired by Hillary Commission deputy chairman Dr David Gerrard, has called for a campaign to encourage New Zealanders to get more active, and save lives and money as a result.

This follows the release of a report from the National Health Committee to the Minister of Health calling for the Government to promote healthy active lifestyles.

"Together these reports are good news for Government. We now have two groups of experts who agree that physical activity improves health and can save hundreds of lives each year" Mr McCully said.

"I have asked the Hillary Commission to prepare a promotional campaign that will target people who are not active for at least 2.5 hours per week, as that is the level recommended for better health. This must be a priority for the Commission and agencies in the health sector."

"Dr Gerrard's Taskforce has found that many premature deaths caused by heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer could be prevented, and the quality of many peoples' lives could be improved with a little more exercise. The Taskforce believes that a campaign promoting a more active lifestyle would succeed if it carried a powerful message, and was backed up with opportunities for people to get out and be active."

"The Hillary Commission has discovered that 64% of adults are active to a healthy level. The Commission has plans to increase this to 70% in the next two years or so. The Hillary Commission does much good work in this area, but a campaign is needed to give us a further kick start. This is important for our overall well-being as a nation".