Background - Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey
The need for a national food, nutrition and physical activity monitoring
system has long been recognised as a national priority. Regular monitoring
of the food and nutrition system was identified as one of four priority
objectives of the Food and Nutrition Policy for Australia adopted in 1992.
Monitoring of physical activity was also included as one of the strategic
directions in the 1996 Active Australia National Participation Framework. A
number of Australian Government funded initiatives have contributed towards
this objective since the early 1990s and the need for a national food,
nutrition and physical activity monitoring system has also been acknowledged
in a number of relevant policy documents.
The Australian Government (through the Department of Health and Ageing and
the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) and the Australian
Food and Grocery Council jointly announced the launch of Measuring
Australia’s eating habits and physical activity on13 September 2005. The
initiative involves the development of a national food, nutrition and
physical activity monitoring and surveillance system with the first stage
being the development and implementation of a national children’s nutrition
and physical activity survey. Subsequent surveys will target other age
groups and/or population groups.
Some States have recently undertaken, or will undertake, State-based
children’s nutrition and physical activity surveys. These surveys will help
inform the initial national children’s survey and will provide valuable
input into planning and decisions about the development of a national
rolling program of surveys as part of the broader system’s development.
The contractual management of the survey is the responsibility of the
Department of Health and Ageing. A Steering Group (SG) comprising
representatives from the three funding bodies has been convened to oversee
the development and implementation of the national children’s survey. A
Technical Reference Group (TRG) has been established and will provide
scientific and technical expertise and guidance to the SG. The TRG includes
experts in the field of nutrition, physical activity, obesity and
statistics, and includes a State representative and a representative from
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Both the SG and the TRG are
chaired by the Department. Secretariat support is also provided to both
these groups by the Department.