Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years): A background paper

Partially revised February 2015

Published online: 
16 February 2015
Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years)

Summary

The Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years): A background paper provides evidence-based technical information and best practice recommendations on nutrition and physical activity for health practitioners working in clinical and population health settings. It is also used as the basis for accompanying health education resources for the public.

Partial revision February 2015

Some sections of this publication have been revised. The changes are mainly minor editorial changes and the overall public health messages in the document remain the same.

Updated information

Page numbers given below are for the pdf version.

Section 4.5 Fat

  • Removal of the words ‘and their precursors’ and ‘long-chain omega-3 fatty acids’ to clarify the sentence: ‘The following polyunsaturated fatty acids or their precursors cannot be synthesised in the body and must be provided by the diet: linoleic acid; α-linolenic acid; long-chain omega-3 fatty acids’. (pg 41)
  • Clarified good sources of linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids including the addition of ‘plant oils and plant based spreads’ as examples of good sources of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. (pg 41)
  • Changed ‘polyunsaturated’ to unsaturated in the following sentence. ‘Transfatty acids are a type of unsaturated that occur naturally in some of the fat from ruminant animals (eg butter, meat fat) but are also produced during food processing by partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fats.’ (pg 41)
  • ‘Longer-chain fatty acids (EPA, DPA, DHA)’ changed to ‘longer-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (EPA, DPA, DHA)’. (pg 41)
  • Footnotes added to clarify fats in potatoes, kūmara, taro and poultry. (pg 45)

Section 4.10 Calcium

  • Added following sentence to summary box (pg 56) and Sources in the diet section (pg 58):
    ‘Low-fat milk with extra calcium added is also available.’

Section 5.4 Sources of fluid in the diet

  • Added that sugar free energy drinks are available in New Zealand. (pg 77)
  • Replaced ‘chocolate flavoured drinks’ with ‘drinking chocolate’ and changed ‘contain very few nutrients’ to ‘contribute very few nutrients to the diet’. (pg 79)

Glossary

  • Updated the definition of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ‘A nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms.’ (pg 173)
  • Inserted definition of Essential fatty acids. (pg 175)
  • Updated definition of Omega-3 fatty acids ‘Polyunsaturated fatty acids with their first double bond three carbon atoms from the methyl end of the carbon chain. They are found in oily fish, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. Common omega-3 fatty acids in the body are alpha α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).’ (pg 179)
  • Updated definition of Omega-6 fatty acids ‘Polyunsaturated fatty acids with their first double bond six carbon atoms from the methyl end of the carbon chain. They are found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. Common omega-6 fatty acids in the body are linoleic acid and arachidonic acid.’ (pg 179)

Appendix 5 Three-day sample meal plans

  • Tables A 13, 14 and 15 – Changed brand names for generic food items. (pp 201–202)

Throughout document

  • Changed tinned to canned

Publishing information

  • Date of publication:
    16 February 2015
  • ISBN:
    978-0-478-44482-7 (print), 978-0-478-44483-4 (online)
  • HP number:
    5480
  • Citation:
    Ministry of Health. 2012. Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2–18 years): A background paper – Revised February 2015. Wellington: Ministry of Health.
  • Ordering information:
    Only soft copy available to download
  • Copyright status:

    Owned by the Ministry of Health and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

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