For almost 10 years I've been banging the drum, raising awareness and encouraging people to ask about what's in my food?
Over the years, I have been called many of names - a nut job and fun police are 2 of the more polite ones.
The Root Cause has kept chipping away at the grass roots level, Standing for Children's Health, gathering people like you along the way to stand with us. And now it's with so much excitement to see organisations like the ABC, Obesity Policy Coalition and The Fruit & Vegetable Consortium raising awareness in the media.
Did you see Magda’s Big Health Check on ABC? If you didn’t, I would highly recommend watching in on iView here.
This first episode of Magda’s Big Health Check posed these 2 questions:
1. Why as a nation are we so unhealthy?
2. What’s making Australian’s so sick?
This program pulled no punches that it’s the food we’re eating, and our food environments (the suburb where we live, our homes, shops etc) that are contributing to Australia’s ill health.
The program highlighted that 50% of Australia’s are living with chronic health conditions (note – this stat for our kids is at 43%!).
Here’s some notes I took from the show that I found particularly concerning. What about you?
- Most cases presenting to Emergency Dept's are people with chronic illness, these are conditions that are largely preventable.
- 90% of deaths are from chronic illness.
- 1 person dies from heart disease (a chronic illness) every 32 minutes.
- Health is shaped by where we live.
- First Nations people have a life expectancy 8 yrs lower than the average, and they are 4 times more likely to have diabetes type 2.
- Children as young as 11 are now presenting with heart disease.
- Our children are being set up for a lifelong love affair with junk food.
- Children as young as 3 recognise junk food brands.
- Some countries are banning junk food advertising where children will be.
- 40% of children's energy comes from the consumption from junk food, whilst 96% of children are not eating enough vegetables and fruit - the foods essential for health.
My favourite line from the show is "Australia’s Achilles heel is nutrition".
I look forward to watching the coming episodes. I hope they continue to shine the spotlight on our upside down food culture. I also truly hope when they start to explore What’s In My Food? that they remember to shine the light on additives, including colours and flavours too. I've raised this with Government Committees, I've written about it in my book - The Lunchbox Effect - to no avail.
Us parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, friends etc - we have a BIG role to play.
We can no longer just stand back because we're worried about being seen as 'that parent' who says something about what's going on. This inaction is costing this generation of kids. It's time to stop worrying about others think of us, and to worry about our kids. Even if you know your kids are going to be ok because you nourish them well at home, as young adults they will be bearing the rising medical costs for their generation.
That’s why there is no time like now to Stand with us for Children’s Health and the very best way you can support the work we do is to bravely and confidently share our Children's Health Program with your school. Click here to find out more.