Federal Government commits $3.5 million for healthier lifestyles in Tasmania

Tasmanian will be rewarded with millions of dollars in extra health funding if its population loses weight, exercises more, eats healthier food and reduces smoking rates.

Under the Federal Government's National Preventative Health Strategy Tasmania will receive an extra $3.5 million in health funding if:

• The proportion of children participating in at least 60 minutes of daily moderate activity increases;
• The proportion of adults participating in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity for at least five days a week increases;
• The average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables increases;
• The increasing rate of overweight children and adults slows and then declines;
• Their is a reduction in the proportion of adults smoking.

Unless Tasmania shapes up against these key health benchmarks, the state stands to lose the reward funding, which was agreed to by all states and territories as part of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health.

Medicare Local Tasmania chairwoman Dr Judith Watson said the preventive health measures under the plan were simple but effective and that exercising more and eating a healthy diet were the best forms of preventive health.

Dr Watson told local media "when a GP gives someone simple advice like go for a walk, it's just as important as giving someone a script for a pill."

Dr Watson said it was important for people to find any opportunities for physical activity in their increasingly sedentary lifestyles, even if it involved snatching small bursts of fast walking whenever possible, adding "we sit in front of TVs with remotes, we have remotes for our garage doors and gates it means all that incidental activity is missing in our lives."

Dr Watson said the millions of dollars offered as reward payments under the federal Preventive Health Agreement were a fraction of the potential savings to the health system if the plan leads to a reduction in lifestyle diseases.

For example, it is estimated increasing fruit and vegetable consumption would save the national health care system $157 million in relation to heart disease alone.

The Tasmanian fruit and vegetable industry also stands to gain if the state takes on the healthy food challenge. It is estimated Tasmanian growers would boost their sales of fruit by 20,000 tonnes a year, and vegetables by 20,000 tonnes a year, if Tasmanians ate their recommended intake.

The Tasmanian Government has received $500,000 in Federal funding to begin surveying the population to assess health levels across the key benchmark areas and has been given until June 2016 and December 2018 to meet the health targets before the reward payments are made.

Under the agreement, Tasmania must ensure the proportion of overweight children does not increase by more than 5% by 2016. The most recent survey of Tasmanian children showed about 25% of those aged 5-17 years are obese.

In the area of adult weight, the rate of increase must also be less than 5% by 2016, and return to 2009 levels by 2018. About 64% of Tasmanian adults are overweight or obese.

In the key benchmark area of fruit and vegetable intake, the goal is for children and adults to eat an average increase of 0.2 serves for fruit and 0.5 serves for vegetables by 2016. The latest survey showed 88.8% of Tasmanians consume too few fruit or vegetables.

In the area of exercise, 5% more children must be undertaking at least an hour of moderate physical activity every day by 2016. At present 38% of Tasmanian children aged 5-12 years are not active for at least 60 minutes per day.

For more information go to www.preventativehealth.org.au

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