How healthy are New Zealanders?
Aotearoa has recorded its lowest ever daily smoking rate, but the number of people being unable to get the psychological support they need is growing.
That’s according to results from the annual New Zealand Health Survey, published yesterday.
The snapshot of Kiwi health, collected from 4434 adults and 1323 children (via their primary caregivers) between July 2021 and July 2022, shows 19% of adults drank alcohol in a hazardous way; daily smoking decreased from 16% in 2011/12 to 8% in 2021/22; nearly one in 10 adults (9%) and 6% of children didn’t get the help they needed to deal with emotions, stress, mental health or substance use; nearly seven in 10 adults and three-quarters of children got the recommended amount of sleep; more than one in 10 adults experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress; 7% of adults couldn’t see a GP because they couldn’t get time off work; and one in 30 adults (3.3%) couldn’t fill a prescription due to cost.
Nearly 1 in 5 are hazardous drinkers
In 2021/22, four in five adults (79.1%) drank alcohol in the past year – an increase from 78.5% the previous year.
Nearly one in five (18.8%) were hazardous drinkers: more likely men.
In 2021/22, 18 to 24-year-olds had the highest prevalence of hazardous drinking (31%). Asian adults had the lowest rate of hazardous drinking than other ethnic groups (6%), compared with: Māori (33%); Pacific (21%) and Pākehā/other (20%).
More than half of 15 to 17-yearolds reported drinking in the past year (57%) – despite the legal purchasing age of 18.
Lowest daily smoking rate ever, vaping on the up
New Zealand’s daily smoking rate has fallen to an historic low of 8% of adults smoking daily, down from 9.4% a year ago. Daily vaping/e-cigarette use increased.
An estimated 380,000 adults were current smokers – smoking at least monthly – down from 10.9% in 2021/21. In 2021/22, 8.3% of adults were daily vapers/e-cig users, up to 6.2% last year.
Vape use was highest among those aged 18-24 (22.9%); Māori (17.6%) and Pacific peoples (16.8%).
Distress and unmet need
One in nine adults (11.2%) reported experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress in the past year – up from 9.6% in 2020/21.
This increased to 23% among young people aged 15-24, up from 5.1% in 2011/12. High or very high levels of psychological distress were more common in disabled adults than non-disabled adults: (32.8% and 9.2%, respectively).
Close to 9% of adults reported an unmet need for professional help for their emotions, stress, mental health or substance use last year, compared to 4.9% in 2016/17 – with young adults (those aged 15-24) reporting the highest rates (16.2%) of unmet need for help.
Fruit and veg and food security
Half of adults (49.8%) met the fruit intake recommendation (2+ servings a day), and only 10% met the vegetable recommendation
(5-5.5 servings daily).
Almost three-quarters of tamariki met the recommended fruit guidelines (1-2 servings) and 6.4% met the vege recommendations (2.5 to 5.5 servings).
Household food insecurity was more common in deprived neighbourhoods, the survey found.
More than 12% of children lived in households where food runs out ‘‘sometimes or often’’, similar to last year – down from 20% in 2019/20.
Physical activity and obesity
Obesity – looking at height, weight and waist body size and blood pressure – was not measured in 2021/22 due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, just over half of adults (51.9%) met physical activity guidelines, while nearly 13% did little or no activity last year.