• Home
• Archives

Families to take a leading role in improving eating habits

Minister for Health David Davis has hosted a roundtable of Victorian families at Parliament House to share ideas on healthy eating.

Speaking at the Victorian consultation forum of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Mr Davis said he was delighted to see so many parents and children taking a leading role in improving eating habits.

‘It’s great that so many mums, dads and kids are here with a keen interest in healthy eating,’ Mr Davis said.

‘Their ideas will help shape Victoria’s input into the NHMRC’s Australian Dietary Guidelines and Australian Guide to Healthy Eating which are being reviewed for the first time since 2003.

‘The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is designed for the general public and provides serving sizes and recommended diets for various age and gender groups.’

The main changes so far proposed include strengthening guidelines relating to limiting sweetened drinks, a small increase in recommended serve sizes of dairy and meat (young females only) and a decrease in serve sizes for breads and cereals groups.

‘A healthy diet and exercise are the foundations of good health.

‘That is why the Government is investing more than $40 million through the National Partnership on Preventive Health in new prevention initiatives for children,’ Mr Davis said.

‘Among those initiatives is a new $3 million Healthy Eating Advisory Service which will provide healthy eating and nutrition advice to early childhood services, primary and secondary schools, as well as hospitals.

‘The phone and internet based service will help schools implement canteen policies, early childhood services to meet national standards and hospitals to implement food and drink choices in their retail food service outlets.’

•           To take part in an Australian Guide to Healthy Eating survey visit http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcsite.nsf/pages/nhmrc_survey?open.