11 Oct 2006
Colac children fight obesity
A four-year drive to reduce obesity in the town of Colac in Victoria, Australia, has resulted in 1,800 children weighing less, watching less television, eating more healthily and engaging in more sport.
The Be Active, Eat Well programme was conducted by Deakin University and funded by the Victorian government.
It targeted Colac’s 11,000-strong population, urging everyone to support changes for all children aged four to 12.
More after-school activity centres were introduced, plus brightly-coloured lunch packs containing salad wraps and fruit.
At the end of the pilot, Colac’s children weighed an average of 1kg less than the norm for Australian children of their age, with waistlines on average 3cm smaller.
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