3 OCTOBER 1999

Beyond the pie drive-Healthy Eat Week

The Australian Nutrition Foundation has issued a challenge to schools to examine their traditional school fund raising activities. In the past fund raising has often centred on activities such as pie and lamington drives.

An alternative to these has now been devised by the Australian Nutritional Foundation (ANF) in Queensland as part of Nutrition Week 1999, which is held from 10^th-16^th October.

"Healthy Eat Week has been designed to increase students awareness of the importance of healthy eating and exercise. It aims to encourage them to try a healthier lifestyle for just one week," said Claire Harrison, Dietitian for the ANF.

The program, which will be piloted in selected schools throughout South East Queensland, runs for one week with students colouring in squares of the ANF’s Healthy Eating Pyramid for each serving of food they eat.

"People are asked to sponsor students and money raised is shared by the school and the Australian Nutrition Foundation. The foundation will re invest this money in healthy lifestyle programs for children.

"This initiative is in response to recent surveys indicating poor nutritional habits and increasing rates of overweight in children," said Ms Harrison.

Results from the recent National Nutrition Survey showed 25% of boys and girls did not consume the recommended quantity of fruit. Approximately a third had not eaten any fruit on the day prior to the survey. Average intakes of vegetables were also below the recommended serves for children. Over 25% of children did not consume adequate calcium rich foods.

The incidence of overweight is rising amongst children with fifteen percent of Australian children now classified as either being overweight or at risk of being overweight.

The ANF is a non-profit organisation committed to improving the health of all Australians. Healthy Eat Week is a new initiative of the ANF that offers an alternative to traditional fund raising activities and emphasises the importance of improving lifestyle habits of Australian children.

For further information on Healthy Eat Week or children’s nutrition please contact the Australian Nutrition Foundation on 3876 2677.

For more information Nutrition Australia recommends:

• Food for Young Aussies

• Tuckshop Team Mate

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