New study will dive into the diets of school kids

The funding will assist the researchers in projects that investigate the impact of food on heart health. It comes as the decline in heart disease in Aotearoa New Zealand has plateaued for the first time in decades.

Dr Kathryn Beck, alongside Dr Jamie de Seymour, Laurie Wharemate-Keung and Jasmin Jackson from the Ministry of Education, have been awarded a grant worth $147,538 over two years to investigate ultra-processed food consumption in 600 school children in Auckland and Waikato, and the potential contribution to poor heart health.

While many studies have shown that eating high amounts of these types of foods increases the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, there hasn’t been any research done in New Zealand on the impact of ultra-processed foods on the health of tamariki.

In a New Zealand-first study, Dr Beck’s team will investigate what and how much ultra-processed food tamariki are eating, explore what nutrients they are getting from foods, where they are getting ultra-processed foods from and the context in which they are being eaten.

The research will also look at the contribution of Ka Ora, Ka Ako (the Government’s school lunch programme) to food intake and the nutrient intake of tamariki.

Dr Beck says discovering this information will help to improve the diets of school children and as a result, improve their heart health as adults. Altering ultra-processed food intake is a translatable strategy to help the future generations of New Zealanders.

“Ultra-processed foods are everywhere you look – supermarkets, dairies and school tuck shops. They’re convenient, accessible and often cheaper. I hope in future we can help kids to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Heart Foundation Medical Director Dr Gerry Devlin says there have been global studies linking ultra-processed foods to high blood pressure and heart disease, but there has been little research done here which specifically related to our population.

“The research we’re funding will hopefully help develop strategies and inform policy to enable a healthier future for all New Zealanders,” he says.

Dr Kathryn Bradbury and Dr Kelly Garton from the University of Auckland have also received Heart Foundation funding for their research projects that look at the impact of food on heart health.

Dr Bradbury’s project will investigate whether new trends in diets are contributing to higher blood fats that could explain the plateau in heart disease in New Zealand. Dr Garton will investigate whether ultra-processed foods, which are energy-dense and high in salt, fats and sugars, are to blame for heart disease.