New Zealanders are taking real steps to look after their
health, with new research showing more Kiwi adults are now
eating five or more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables
every day, compared with three years ago.
The 2026 5+
A Day Awareness and Consumption Report, conducted by
NielsenIQ, found 45% of New Zealanders now eat five or more
servings a day, up from 40% in 2023. Applied across the
adult population, that shift represents roughly 200,000*
more New Zealanders building healthier habits, one meal at a
time. The proportion eating six or more servings a day has
climbed too, from 25% in 2023 to 30% this year – the
highest level recorded since 2021.
Dr Carolyn Lister,
Team Leader – Food & Health Information Food &
Bioproducts Technology and Trustee of the 5+ A Day
Charitable Trust, says the results are fantastic and a
source of pride for the Trust.
“We’re proud of, and
inspired by, the number of Kiwi who are taking better care
of their health,” Dr Lister says. “It shows that simple,
consistent messages about eating fresh, seasonal produce
really can shift behaviour,” she says.
The research
points to seasonal, good-value produce as the single biggest
driver behind encouraging them to eat more. Eighty-five
percent of those surveyed agreed that in-season affordable
produce encouraged them to eat more fresh fruit, while 84%
said the same for vegetables – making it the strongest
motivator of consumption ahead of health goals and even
growing produce at home.
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“When fruit and vegetables
are in season, they’re at their best – full of flavour, at
their most nutritious, and better value for money,” Dr
Lister says. “It shows that when produce is in season and
plentiful, and offers great value, people eat more of
it.”
The improvement wasn’t evenly spread across all
groups. Māori were significantly more likely to be eating
five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day, at 60%
compared with the 45% national average. Gen Z also stood out
for vegetables specifically, with 33% eating five or more
servings a day, ahead of every other generation.
The
research also found that recipe inspiration and growing
produce at home remain important motivators, particularly
for vegetables, while awareness of the 5+ A Day programme
itself remains strong, with four in five New Zealanders
familiar with it.
Despite the positive shift,
opportunities remain. Dinner is still the dominant occasion
for both fruit and vegetable intake, while breakfast and
snack times represent the biggest opportunity for New
Zealanders to add more servings to their day. Understanding
of the recommended daily intake also remains an area for
improvement, with only around a quarter of New Zealanders
able to correctly identify the recommended fruit intake (2
servings per day), and about a third correctly identifying
the recommended vegetable intake (5 or more servings per day
for adults).
5+ A Day says the results reinforce the
importance of continuing to promote seasonal, affordable
produce as a practical way to help New Zealanders build
lasting healthy eating habits, as well as continuing
education around portion sizes.
For seasonal recipe
inspiration and ideas on how to make the most of what’s
fresh right now, follow @5adaynz on Facebook, Instagram and
TikTok.
References:
Ministry
of Health eating and activity guidelines: https://static.info.content.health.nz/docs/health-pros/topics/nutrition/eating-activity-guidelines-nz-adults.pdf
World
Health Organization healthy diet recommendations: https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/nutrition—maintaining-a-healthy-lifestyle
*Note
on the 200,000 figure:
This is an
estimate, not a NielsenIQ-reported statistic. It is
calculated by applying the 5 percentage point increase in
New Zealanders eating 5+ servings a day (from 40% in 2023 to
45% in 2026) to New Zealand’s estimated adult (18+)
population of approximately 4.15 million (based on Stats
NZ’s national population estimate of 5.36 million at March
2026, with those aged 18+ estimated at around 78% of the
total population). 5% of 4.15 million is approximately
207,500, rounded here to “more than
200,000.
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