Live Life Well campaign launched on 17 December 2006

Live Life Well, a NSW Government campaign aimed at helping people lead healthier lifestyles and avoid ill health was launched today by NSW Minister for Health, John Hatzistergos.

Mr Hatzistergos announced the campaign to coincide with the inaugural sponsorship of today's Live Life Well Cycle Grand Prix - a cycle event featuring some of the world's best cyclists.

"We want Live Life Well to give people practical tips on how to eat healthier and lead healthier lifestyles," Mr Hatzistergos said.

"It has one simple objective - radically changing the way we think about our health so that we are living life well.

"It's about spending less time sitting in front of the TV or computer and more time playing sport or doing something active - cultivating an environment that inspires us all to live life well."

Mr Hatzistergos said Live Life Well includes an interactive website www.livelifewell.nsw.gov.au providing people with tips and practical advice on smoking, exercise and activities, a body mass index calculator, good nutrition, and general health issues.

"If we can reduce our consumption of unhealthy food and drinks and get more active, we can help prevent killer chronic diseases such as type two diabetes, heart disease and cancer."

"For too long, health systems around the world have focused their energies on treating sick people. The Iemma Government is now shifting its focus to helping individuals stay healthy and reduce their risk of chronic diseases which place a significant burden on the health system."

Other Live Life Well initiatives will include:

Australia's largest ever childhood obesity prevention trial in Hunter New England Area Health Service.
A Christmas and New Year's Eve awareness campaign to educate and encourage people to drink alcohol responsibly and warn of the health risks of alcohol abuse.
The NSW Government sponsoring the Sydney Swans to teach school children about the serious hazards of smoking (Don't Be A Sucker!).
Soft-drinks officially banned in NSW Government schools as part of our commitment to healthy canteens and an effort to sever the link between soft drinks and obesity.

Today Mr Hatzistergos will start the men's elite leg of the Live Life Well Cycle Grand Prix - featuring Australia's greatest road cyclist Robbie McEwan, Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist and 2006 track cyclist of the year medallist Ben Kersten and Graeme Brown, two gold medallist at the Athens Olympics, multiple world champion and world record holder.