30 Minutes to Spare can Reduce our Risk of Chronic Disease
By being active for at least 30 minutes on most days – such as taking a brisk walk – we can reduce our risk of chronic disease.
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30 September 2010
By being active for at least 30 minutes on most days – such as taking a brisk walk – we can reduce our risk of chronic disease.
Australians are being encouraged to set aside time to take part in regular walking as part of Walk to Work Day tomorrow.
Activities such as walking to work, getting off a few stops early from public transport, or going for a walk during your lunch break can help prevent Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Most of us lead busy lives at work and at home, and fitting in time for exercise can be difficult. Walk to Work Day reminds us of the importance to incorporate more activity into our daily lives.
Around half of Australian adults do not take part in enough exercise, and more than half are now overweight or obese. Lack of exercise and a poor diet are risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
The Gillard government knows that prevention is better than cure and we believe it is important that Australians are supported to lead healthy and active lives.
We have understood this through our investments in the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health which will invest $872.1 million for prevention including funding for healthy lifestyle programs in workplaces, communities and childhood settings.
It also includes funding to extend the Measure Up campaign which helps people to identify if they have an increased risk of chronic disease by the size of their waist.
More information about the Measure Up campaign is available at www.measureup.gov.au.
Walk to Work day was established by the Pedestrian Council of Australia and is funded by the Australian Government, for more information please see http://www.walk.com.au/
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220
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