Dubbo has national health plan say
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Health professionals in Dubbo will today have input into a national strategy to tackle obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse.
The National Preventative Health Task Force is visiting the city as part of its consultation in developing a plan to reach key targets by 2020.
It is aiming to stop and reverse the rise in obesity, and to reduce the prevalence of smoking and harmful drinking.
A task force member, Dr Lyn Roberts, says closing the 17 year life expectancy gap for Indigenous people is also a major focus.
"In each of the obesity, tobacco and alcohol areas we'll be looking at Indigenous strategies to make sure they're integrated into the overall approach here, particularly in the Dubbo region, you've got not only those challenges of living in a regional community overlayed with Indigenous issues," he said.
Dr Roberts says the task force has developed a discussion paper aimed at making Australia the healthiest country by 2020.
"So we'd like to see things like to be able to work with the food industry and other industry to really try and see how we can have healthier products available for young people and the community to be able to eat or to be able to have better access to opportunities for physical activity," Dr Roberts said.
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