Population Health
Health Promotion

Healthy Populations

Healthy Eating and Active Living

The NSW Healthy Eating and Active Living Strategy 2013-2018 provides a whole of government framework to promote and support healthy eating and active living in NSW and to reduce the impact of lifestyle-related chronic disease. There are four key strategic directions:

  • Environments to support healthy eating and active living
  • State-wide healthy eating and active living support programs
  • Healthy eating and active living advice as part of routine service delivery
  • Education and information to enable informed healthy choices.

The Strategy aims to encourage and support the community to make healthy lifestyle changes at a personal level, and create an environment that supports healthier living through better planning, built environments and transport solutions. The Strategy aims to ensure that everyone has opportunities to be healthy through the delivery of evidence-based programs and policy initiatives.

In SWSLHD the health of the community is influenced by a complex range of factors including age, socio-economic status, social capital, behaviours, beliefs and lifestyle, life experiences, country of origin, genetic predisposition and access to health and social care.

Residents on average have behaviours that have been linked to poorer health status and chronic disease.
These include:

  • SWSLHD residents are less likely to rate their health status as good, very good or excellent than the NSW average
  • Current daily and occasional smoking at 19.2% (higher than the NSW average)
  • Adequate physical activity at 47.8% (7% worse than the NSW average)
  • Overweight at 34.1% (slightly higher than NSW average)
  • Obesity at 21.8% (2% higher than NSW average)
  • Consuming vegetables in recommended quantities at 7% (3% worse than NSW average)
  • Women smoking during pregnancy at 15.3% (4% higher than the NSW rate)

The Health Promotion Service has a range of initiatives to assist the residents of SWSLHD to have a healthy and active lifestyle.

Health Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active LivingHealth Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active LivingHealth Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active Living

More information

Contact Karen Wardle Program Manager Healthy Populations on 02 8738 5902 or Karen.Wardle@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

Health Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active Living

Get Healthy @ Work

Health Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active LivingGet Healthy @ Work is a new Government initiative aimed at improving the health of working adults and has been developed in partnership with NSW Health and Work Cover NSW. The overall goal is to contribute to the reduction of lifestyle chronic disease with a focus on 35 - 55yrs by addressing modifiable risk factors by giving workplaces the tools and resources to address one of six health focus areas: healthy weight, physical activity, healthy eating, active travel, quit smoking, harmful alcohol consumption.
The program has two key components:

  1. Workplace Health Program: action plan to address a priority health issue facing the workforce
  2. Brief health check: giving immediate feedback on individual risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, providing advice on how to make health changes. Automatic referral to the Get Healthy coaching service. If more than 50 workers complete this online or face to face a de-identified summary report is available for the employer

More information can be found at http://www.gethealthyatwork.com.au/

Get Healthy Coaching Service

The Get Healthy Information and coaching service has helped individuals to make positive lifestyle changes around healthy eating and active living since 2009. It is a free telephone-based service where participants have their own personal health coach and receive 10 coaching calls over 6 months. Through regular contact, advice and coaching, participants can achieve a healthier, more physically active lifestyle.
There are tailored programs for:

  • Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
  • Aboriginal Australians

Health Promotion - Healthy Populations - Healthy Eating and Active Living

To be eligible for the service the participant must be over 18 and a resident of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Queensland or Tasmania. For further information you can access the Get Healthy Website http://www.gethealthynsw.com.au

 

NSW Ministry of Health |   SWSLHD on YouTube   SWSLHD on Facebook   SWSLHD on Twitter
Disclaimer | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Sitemap
© 2018 South Western Sydney Local Health District
Page last updated: 17 March, 2015