enhancing food security and physical activity for maori, pacific and ...

Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income Peoplessocial capital and social cohesion, as well as a reduction in car dependency and theassociated lowering of pollution levels.Cost benefit analysisNo cost benefit data are available.RecommendationsThe evidence base in New Zealand for examining the effects of access to open spaceand street connectivity on physical activity is extremely limited. Most of the research thathas been completed in this area was undertaken in the United States, and while thefindings are compelling, the urban form of US cities (such as residential segregation,inequality, density etc) is distinct from the New Zealand situation. Therefore, theevidence from the US is unlikely to be transferable to the New Zealand context. Furtherinvestigation to develop the New Zealand evidence base is recommended.New research should be targeted at exploring the influence of the built environment onphysical activity and related health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the threetarget communities. While new cross-sectional studies will make useful additions to theevidence base, it will be difficult to determine causality, which will limit the strength ofevidence available in New Zealand. Perhaps the most fruitful line of research may comefrom collecting detailed longitudinal data that tracks individuals as they move betweendifferent settings (over the course of the day as well as over the lifecourse) inconjunction with sophisticated measures of the built environment. Current studies suchas the ‘Longitudinal Study of New Zealand Children and Families’ as well as ‘Survey ofFamily, Income and Employment, Statistics New Zealand’ offer some opportunities.In addition, researchers should take advantage of various ‘natural experiments’ withinthe built environment that take place (eg. the opening of or improvement to urbanparkland or adjustments to the road/cycle network). Undertaking natural experimentswill require the collection of robust and timely data to monitor interventions. Longitudinalstudies and natural experiments offer opportunities to better understand the influence ofthe built environment on physical activity of Māori, Pacific and low income communities.But both approaches will require targeted funding streams as well as multi-sectoralcollaborations.While it is imperative to develop the New Zealand evidence base linking the pertinentcomponents of the urban built environment and physical activity, it is also important toconsider in parallel the policy levers that can be used to enhance these environments.The development of a National Policy Statement (NPS) in New Zealand offersconsiderable potential to enhance many characteristics of the built environment thatpotentially influence physical activity. It is important that the ongoing process ofdeveloping a NPS in New Zealand, underpinned by the research that is progressing inthis area, explicitly incorporates an evaluation of the health implications of itsrecommendations.A significant strategic priority of a new NPS should be to specifically target theimprovement of physical activity in Māori, Pacific and low income communities acrossthe country. Given the paucity of research in this area, it will be important to evaluate theimplications of the implementation of NPS-related policies on practice.143