This year’s results highlight the pressures Māori and Pacific whānau are facing across mental health, food security, smoking, vaping, and long-term conditions.
This explainer breaks the data down in simple terms and shows what it means for our communities.
Smoking & vaping
- Māori daily smoking: 14.8% → 15%
- First time in a decade that decreases in Māori smoking rates have stalled
- Vaping remains high across Māori and Pacific communities, especially rangatahi
Why this is happening:
The reversal in progress comes after key Smokefree protections were removed, allowing industry pressure, high product availability, and weak regulations to take hold. These conditions impact Māori communities first and hardest.
Self-rated health
- Māori are 11 percent less likely than non-Māori to say their health is good.
- Pacific adults are 9 percent less likely than non-Pacific adults to say their health is good.
Why this is happening:
Self-rated health is based on a simple question: “How would you describe your overall health?”. It captures how people feel day-to-day – their energy levels, stress, sleep, mood, and ability to cope.
Lower scores for Māori and Pacific whānau reflect the cumulative impact of inequities across housing, income, kai, access to care, and working conditions. These broader pressures shape health long before anyone steps into a clinic.
Mental health
- Māori and Pacific adults experience over 50 percent higher levels of high psychological distress.
- High psychological distress is roughly double in the most deprived neighbourhoods.
- Data shows rangatahi are increasingly seeking support from teachers for their mental wellbeing.
What “serious psychological distress” means:
People aged 15+ are considered to have high or very high distress if they score 12+ on the K10 (Kessler-10) – a short set of questions about feelings like nervousness, restlessness, tiredness, or depression over the past four weeks.
Why this is happening:
Higher distress levels may reflect cost-of-living pressure, racism, insecure housing, financial strain, and long-term inequities. These factors build stress in daily life, not individual weakness. Despite these pressures, more whānau are speaking openly about mental health, showing strength in connection and support.
Cardiovascular health
Māori and Pacific people are around 50 percent more likely to have poor heart health than non-Māori and non-Pacific.
Why this is happening:
These gaps reflect long standing system barriers that prevent Māori and Pacific communities from thriving. Things like neighbourhoods overloaded with unhealthy food options, inconsistent access to prevention and early diagnosis, and a lack of culturally safe care all shape heart health outcomes over time.
Alcohol
Hazardous drinking among Māori shows a small but positive downward trend.
Why this is happening:
Where kaupapa-led and community-based support is strong, whānau are better able to engage and make changes. These improvements reflect the success of whānau-centred services.
Food security
What the data shows:
- 1 in 5 children in Aotearoa live in homes where food runs out.
- 1 in 3 Māori tamariki live in homes where food runs out.
- 1 in 2 Pacific tamariki live in homes where food runs out.
Food insecurity is a reflection of the real financial pressures many whānau are under – rising living costs, low wages, and the high price of healthy kai. When tamariki are hungry, it affects their learning, mood, behaviour, sleep, and long-term wellbeing.
Physical activity
Physical activity is significantly down for Māori compared with five years ago.
Lower activity levels often reflect long work hours, caregiving responsibilities, financial pressure, screen time, and mental strain. These factors limit time, energy, and access to physical activity – especially for those carrying the heaviest load.
What this means for us
While the NZ Health Survey gives us a useful snapshot into health and wellbeing of our nation, it won’t fully capture the realities of Māori and Pacific whānau who continue to be disproportionately represented in the data.
These findings reflect persistent gaps in self-rated health, mental health, heart health, and food security continue to show that systemic change is still urgently needed. Surveys like these are helpful. But they only tell one part of the story.
Our message is simple: keep investing in what works – whānau-centred, community-led, culturally strong services.
When our people design and deliver care, our health equity gaps close.
For the full, up-to-date data on other health indicators, check out the official New Zealand health survey annual data here: New Zealand Health Survey Annual Data Explorer.
