Obesity and harm from alcohol use will be in the spotlight at a Preventive Health Summit this Friday. The summit’s focus will be to encourage broader thinking and community engagement about ways to foster healthy lifestyles among Western Australians.
Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disease and disability in Australia, and are placing the health system under growing pressure. At least 31 per cent of chronic diseases are preventable.
The Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series 2015 showed about two-thirds of Western Australian adults and nearly one-quarter of children aged five to 15 years are overweight or obese. The 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also revealed nearly one-fifth of the Western Australian population aged 18 years and over, reported drinking at levels placing them at risk of lifetime alcohol-related harm.
The summit will share ideas from experts and the community about ways to improve the health of Western Australians, and reduce the burden of chronic and acute harm on the public hospital system and the broader WA community.
Health and Mental Health Minister Roger Cook will host the summit in conjunction with the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission and Healthway.
To ensure people from across the state can participate, the summit will be streamed live and viewers will be able to ask questions.
Follow the summit at http://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/preventivehealthsummit and join the conversation on social media with the event hashtag #WAPreventiveHealthSummit.
The outcomes of the Preventive Health Summit will help community and government achieve better long-term health outcomes for all Western Australians.