Bowel Cancer New Zealand has launched an exercise campaign to highlight the impact even a small amount of daily exercise can have on preventing the deadly disease.
"Move Your Butt" aims to get New Zealanders of all ages and fitness levels to commit to doing some kind of daily exercise, with anything from a gentle 10-minute walk upwards being a positive.
"The challenge does not need to be extreme, like running a marathon, it simply means challenging yourself to exercise more than you usually do," Bowel Cancer New Zealand general manager Rebekah Heal said.
The campaign was announced this week, and she hoped it would be in full swing for June, which is bowel cancer awareness month.
"During June alone, 100 Kiwis will die [from bowel cancer] and a further 250 will be diagnosed.
"It's a national emergency and it's important that New Zealanders are aware of the signs and symptoms and most importantly, how to prevent it."
The Southern region, which has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in New Zealand, recently marked the first anniversary of the national bowel screening programme being active in Otago and Southland.
The most recent statistics show 62 SDHB region residents have been diagnosed with bowel cancer as a result of the screening programme.
In addition, 552 people with non-cancerous polyps have been identified and treated.
"We're absolutely delighted with these results, which demonstrate the tangible effects of this programme," clinical lead Jason Hill said.
"As well as identifying instances of bowel cancer, it's significant that we are identifying and removing many cases of polyps, which, over time, can turn into bowel cancer."
Participation rates across all regions in the South exceed the national rate of 60%, with an overall Southern rate of 70.6%.
"We would like to increase those figures even further," Dr Hill said.
"We will be focusing considerable effort on raising awareness and participation among our local Asian and Pasifika populations, which have 55.2% and 55.4% participation rates respectively.
"Another key priority group is that of residents in lower-decile areas, where the participation rate is currently 62.7%."
