Media Centre
Media Release
CSIRO Wellbeing Plan for Children
The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop
MP, today announced $2 million in funding over two years for CSIRO to
develop a Wellbeing Plan for Children.
"The Wellbeing Plan for Children will provide easily accessible,
practical support for parents to provide healthy eating and physical
activity for children. An evidence based book, it will outline the foods
children should be eating and how much they should be eating and may include
recipes and exercise suggestions for parents to improve eating patterns and
physical activity in children," Minister Bishop said.
"The success of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, and the concern
over childhood obesity, demonstrates there is a need for practical and
useful information on a healthy diet for children.
"CSIRO will work with the Department of Health and Ageing, which will
receive an additional $1 million over two years to update the Australian
Guide to Healthy Eating and the Dietary Guidelines for Children and
Adolescents. CSIRO will use these evidence-based resources and current
best knowledge on childhood obesity to develop a practical guide to help
Australian families adopt a healthy lifestyle," Minister Bishop said.
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Media Contacts |
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| Minister Bishop’s Office: |
Tory Vidler |
0414 228 727 |
| CSIRO: |
Jamie Nicholson |
02 6276 6409 |
Supporting Information
Why is this important?
Healthy eating can make a significant contribution to the health of
the Australian population, including through reducing the prevalence of
childhood obesity and the development of chronic diseases such as
cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The Wellbeing Plan for Children will provide an
evidence-based resource for parents on the foods children should be
eating and how much they should be eating.
The project will support and complement the Government’s other
initiatives which target obesity and healthy eating by providing
practical information and tools to help consumers to make healthy
choices.
CSIRO will work with the Department of Health and Ageing, which will
receive an additional $1 million over two years to update the
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and the Dietary Guidelines for
Children and Adolescents. CSIRO will use these evidence-based
resources and the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines for
children and adolescents in the development of the plan.
Who will benefit?
Australian children and their families will be the major
beneficiaries of this measure.
What funding is the Government committing to the initiative?
The Government is committing a total of $3 million over two years
with $2 million going to the CSIRO and $1 million to the Department of
Health and Ageing.
What have we done in the past?
CSIRO has a strong history in the development of foods and diets to
tackle health challenges and has demonstrated the successful transfer of
this knowledge to the public through the best-selling CSIRO Total
Wellbeing Diet.
The Australian Government has been providing nutrition advice to
families for more than 75 years.
In 2004, the Prime Minister announced the $116 million Building a
Healthy, Active Australia initiative to fund the promotion of
important healthy eating messages and the need for increased physical
activity.
When will the initiative conclude?
Funding has been allocated for 2007-08 and 2008-09.
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