Mass treatment for obese Australians
Jan 26, 2003
Citizens of the Australian town of Wellington are making an unusual New Year’s resolution, pledging to collectively lose 1,000 kilogrammes.
Citizens of the Australian town of Wellington are making an unusual New Year’s resolution, pledging to collectively lose 1,000 kilogrammes.
A set of giant scales will be erected above the council chambers to record the monthly progress of the “Welling-tonne†challenge, Karen Lloyd, promotions officer at Wellington Health Service told The Sun-Herald newspaper.
It is hoped that the town will have a leaner, sleeker look by the end of the three-month challenge.
Each participant will pledge to lose at least 3 kilogrammes, with the aim of shedding more over time.
The Wellington Community Health Centre is co-ordinating the group diet, and will hold monthly weigh-ins, exercise classes and cooking sessions.
There will be supermarket tours for residents to learn to scrutinise labels and make healthy choices, and a series of talks by nutritionists and psychologists.
Karen Lloyd said the idea of the town diet came because of the number of people who came to the health centre asking for advice on how to lose weight.
There are an estimated 2,386 overweight people in the city’s population of 9,200, based on government health surveys.
“In Wellington it’s very much about going to the pub and eating takeaway food,†Wellington local Chris Zell told The Sun-Herald.
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said obesity was steadily increasing in rural areas, partly because people were doing less labour on farms and relying more on cars, bikes and machinery, yet the traditional rural diet had not changed.
dpa
A set of giant scales will be erected above the council chambers to record the monthly progress of the “Welling-tonne†challenge, Karen Lloyd, promotions officer at Wellington Health Service told The Sun-Herald newspaper.
It is hoped that the town will have a leaner, sleeker look by the end of the three-month challenge.
Each participant will pledge to lose at least 3 kilogrammes, with the aim of shedding more over time.
The Wellington Community Health Centre is co-ordinating the group diet, and will hold monthly weigh-ins, exercise classes and cooking sessions.
There will be supermarket tours for residents to learn to scrutinise labels and make healthy choices, and a series of talks by nutritionists and psychologists.
Karen Lloyd said the idea of the town diet came because of the number of people who came to the health centre asking for advice on how to lose weight.
There are an estimated 2,386 overweight people in the city’s population of 9,200, based on government health surveys.
“In Wellington it’s very much about going to the pub and eating takeaway food,†Wellington local Chris Zell told The Sun-Herald.
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said obesity was steadily increasing in rural areas, partly because people were doing less labour on farms and relying more on cars, bikes and machinery, yet the traditional rural diet had not changed.
dpa