Science Media Centre

New Zealand’s latest nutrition survey shows the nation’s obesity epidemic surged ahead over the past dozen years — even though the population’s energy intake levels have dropped. Researchers who conducted the 2008-2009 Adult Nutrition Survey (NZANS) say they suspect this means many people are exercising less than they did when the comparable 1997 National Nutrition [...]

Children taking part in a new initiative called Project Energize show significant health benefits, with Energize children less overweight and obese, having smaller waists, and able to run faster than comparison groups, according to a new report published this week. The Energize programme, initiated in 2005, and funded by the Waikato District Health Board, aims to increase [...]

A recent New Zealand study has examined the effects of playing ‘active’ video games, finding that the exercise component of such games can be beneficial for overweight kids. Writing for the New Zealand Herald, Martin Johnston covers the study, carried out but the University of Auckland in conjunction with Sony. An excerpt (read in full [...]

Michael Forbes writes in the Dominion Post about Massey University research showing that men who don’t eat breakfast before training see benefits in peak muscle power and experienced prolonged muscle energy. The same benefits did not, however, apply to women, showing that men and women really do burn fat differently. An excerpt: (read in full [...]

Simply tasting carbohydrate has the ability to boost muscle strength, according to research conducted by University of Auckland scientists. Their research found that a carbohydrate solution in the mouth was able to improve performance, without it needing to be swallowed and digested.  The scientists have suggested the effect could be due to neuronal circuits telling [...]

Research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that the benefits of aerobic exercise are not universal, and that our genes may have a great deal to do with whether exercise benefits us or not. The research looked at over 500 people undertaking aerobic exercise, and found that approximately 20% of these people showed [...]

Sitting for long periods could be harmful to the health, even for people who regularly engage in exercise. The study, undertaken by AUT researchers, supports earlier research which suggested being sedentary was unhealthy. An excerpt: (read in full here) “AUT Public Health Professor Grant Schofield says inactivity and prolonged periods spent sitting increase the risk [...]

A New Zealand study by Dr Beverley Lawton and colleagues, from the University of Otago, Wellington, has been published today in the British Medical Journal. Results show that exercise on prescription increases physical activity and quality of life. It is recommended that this should become part of a wider population strategy to promote exercise. This [...]

A new diet has been attracting coverage in the press. The ‘Morning Banana Diet’ devised by Japanese pharmacist Sumiko Watanabe involves having a banana and a glass of room temperature water for breakfast, then eating anything you like for lunch and dinner. It has also been reported that a laissez-faire approach to exercise is recommended. [...]