Communities Get Together to Get Fit, Keep Fit & Lose Weight
Communities right round Australia will be walking, cycling, lifting and eating their way to good health thanks to $6 million in grants announced on 15 July. It is expected that when fully operational these programs will be helping at least 150,000 people improve their health.
View by date:
Previous MinistersPDF printable version of Communities Get Together to Get Fit, Keep Fit & Lose Weight (PDF 35 KB)
15 July 2010
Communities right round Australia will be walking, cycling, lifting and eating their way to good health thanks to $6 million in grants announced today. It is expected that when fully operational these programs will be helping at least 150,000 people improve their health.
Six not-for-profit organisations will receive a total of $6.32 million to implement six national programs to help fight obesity, and to promote physical activity and healthy eating.
The successful organisations and their programs are:
- National Heart Foundation of Australia: Heart Foundation Walking.
- Cycling Australia (with Amy Gillett Foundation): AustCycle.
- National Heart Foundation – N.S.W. Division: Heartmoves.
- Fitness Australia (with Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute): Lift for Life.
- Macarthur Division of General Practice (with Exercise and Sports Science Australia): Healthy Eating, Activity and Lifestyle Program.
- Diabetes Australia NSW: Beat It – Physical Activity and Lifestyle Program.
“These programs involve a good mix of activities, including walking and cycling programs, plus specific physical activities and strength-based training. Two of the selected programs also focus on educating people in making good food and nutrition choices,” Ms Roxon said.
“Communities right across Australia will benefit from the grants program as each successful organisation is required to expand their healthy lifestyle programs across the country.
“In recognition of the levels of disadvantage faced by some communities, the initiative will specifically target disadvantaged groups, particularly those not in the workforce and at risk of developing lifestyle-related chronic disease.
“We know that these groups and programs will make a difference because every successful applicant has a track record of delivering community-based, healthy lifestyle programs in two or more locations,” Ms Roxon said.
A new website will be developed to help people search for the successful activities and services in their local area and promote healthy lifestyle programs.
The Healthy Communities Initiative is funded from this Government’s $872 million record investment in preventive heath. Further details on the Healthy Communities Initiative can be found at www.healthyactive.gov.au.
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220.
Heart Foundation Walking Program - free, coordinated walking groups across Australia to reduce the risks and/or delay the onset of chronic disease by increasing physical activity.
Funding: $1,045,000 to the National Heart Foundation of Australia
HFW focuses on delivering a centrally coordinated, cost efficient, sustainable walking group program which encourage and support individuals to be physically active. The groups also provide enhanced support networks for people who are socially isolated or from a low socio-economic background.
Participation in the walking groups is free. Each walking group is led by a volunteer community member. Groups are coordinated at a local level by Area Coordinators who are employees of community agencies such as local governments, community health centres, local recreational facilities and neighbourhood houses.
There are 853 HFW groups currently established in community settings across the country, with almost 12 000 regular participants. The HFW participant demographics are:
- 78% are female
- the average age is 56 years
- the majority are between 51-79 years
- 1.9% are Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islanders
- 4% have a first language other than English
- 31 % are retired or semi retired
- 22% are employed.
For more information visit www.heartfoundation.org.au/walking or call 1300 36 27 87.
AustCycle – National Cycling Training Scheme - AustCycle aims to equip people with the skills and confidence to cycle regularly. The program trains people to become accredited instructors who then deliver cycling training to the community. The lessons equip participants with the skills required for cycling, including coping with traffic and riding safely in groups. Funding has been allocated to hire bikes and helmets, as well as accessing these components via charities, to enable people without equipment to participate.
Funding amount: $1,040,778 to Cycling Australia (with Amy Gillet Foundation)
There are currently over 24 AustCycle providers in regional and metropolitan NSW and QLD. AustCycle providers have given approximately 8,000 lessons to about 2,500 clients.
For more information visit www.austcycle.com.au
Lift for Life – a six month supervised resistance-exercise training program helping adults with or at risk of Type 2 diabetes, and can assist those with chronic diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis. Physiotherapists, accredited exercise physiologists and personal trainers deliver the program to small groups.
Funding amount: $986,920 to Fitness Australia (with Baker IDI and Diabetes Institute)
The program is already delivered to all states and territories except NT. To date, 74 providers have been trained and approximately 3,500 participants have taken part in the program.
For more information visit www.liftforlife.com.au
Heart Foundation Heartmoves – a low to moderate intensity exercise program including resistance training, balance and coordination, functional movement and aerobic/endurance training, especially for those with chronic conditions.
Funding: $1,089,215.60 to the National Heart Foundation of Australia – N.S.W Division
The flexibility of the delivery method means the program can be delivered on land, water or as a seated program, allowing for people of all abilities to participate.
Already operating in all states and territories except NT – with a focus on NSW. There are currently 213 Heartmoves leaders providing sessions to an average of 5,201 participants per week.
For more information visit www.heartfoundation.org.au/heartmoves or call 1300 36 27 87.
Healthy Eating, Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL) Program - an eight week nutrition and physical activity program for people who are at risk of developing chronic disease. Trained exercise physiologists and dietitians deliver the program to small groups. The program includes a group based exercise session accompanied by an hour of nutrition education each week.
Funding amount: $1,077,340 to Macarther Division of General Practice (with Exercise and Sports Science Australia)
The program currently operates from two venues in NSW, with 2,120 participants taking part to date.
For more information visit www.macdivgp.com.au
Beat It – Physical Activity and Lifestyle Program - physical activity training and dietary education for adults with or at risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases. Training is provided to exercise physiologists, diabetes educators and dieticians to deliver the program to small groups over 12 weeks. The program includes twice weekly physical activity training plus fortnightly lifestyle education sessions. The Beat It training course has been accredited by Fitness Australia.
Funding amount: $1,076,272 to Diabetes Australia NSW
The program is currently delivered in a range of locations in NSW. To date, 93 people have participated and 40 professionals have been trained to deliver it.
For more information visit www.beat-it.com.au
Help with accessing large documents
When accessing large documents (over 500 KB in size), it is recommended that the following procedure be used:
- Click the link with the RIGHT mouse button
- Choose "Save Target As.../Save Link As..." depending on your browser
- Select an appropriate folder on a local drive to place the downloaded file
Attempting to open large documents within the browser window (by left-clicking)
may inhibit your ability to continue browsing while the document is
opening and/or lead to system problems.
Help with accessing PDF documents
To view PDF (Portable Document Format) documents, you will need to have a PDF reader installed on your computer. A number of PDF readers are available through the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Web Guide website.