MEDIA ROOM

"The food Nazi mother has a new weapon in her armoury in the war against
junk food. It's now official and scientifically proven that children should
eat lollies, chocolate bars, biscuits and ice cream only once a week. The
new national dietary guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical
Research Council yesterday even measures what are acceptable serving sizes
of treats. The new guidelines outline in detail what should be included in a
healthy diet. Health Minister Senator Kay Patterson called the guidelines
the 'silver bullet' in Australia's defence against chronic diseases such as
diabetes, which can be prevented by dietary changes. She said Australian
taxpayers were spending $4.8 billion a year on medicines to treat diseases
which could be prevented by changes in diet and lifestyle."
The Daily Telegraph, Friday 20 June, 2003


PREVENTION WORTHY OF BUDGET CURE
Prevention is better and cheaper than cure - but where do all the health
dollars go? In 1999, Australian governments spent more than $55 billion on
healthcare. Of that, less than 2 per cent was spent on programs to prevent
health problems. A recent report commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing 'Returns on investment in public health' is perhaps one of the most important government reports this year. It effectively says that we can stop disease before it happens and in so doing, save billions of dollars. No-one is arguing that we want to see a lower standard healthcare
for sick people. But wouldn't we all be better off if we were more vigilant
about living healthy lifestyles as we know we should be, and getting some
reminders and helpful hints along the way? And wouldn't it be better if we
arranged our communities in a way that made healthy choices the easy
choices?
Extract from article by Terry Slevin, Chair of The Cancer Council and Australia's Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, The Australian, 17 May 2003


BABY BOOMERS CHOOSING FIT OVER FAT
More baby boomers in NSW are participating in organised sports to boost
their longevity. Fitness NSW chief executive Ian Grainger said older people
were realising the importance of keeping fit. "They're starting to realise
they have to improve the quality of their life," he said. "We all want to
stay young. The health message says you have to be more active." About
500,000 people in NSW are members of fitness centres. Grainger said more
people were choosing to hire personal trainers. More Australians were also
aware of the risks associated with not exercising after recent research
forecast that by 2050, 50 per cent of Australians would be overweight or obese.
Extract from article by Miranda Wood, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 18 May 2003


DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH STAFFED BY OLD FOGEYS
Forget any warm and fuzzy notion about growing old gracefully - baby boomers
are fighting the ageing process every wrinkle of the way. Scientific
research into slowing down the biological clock now draws more than $4
billion worldwide each year. Scientists at the University of Illinois have
found what they claim to be the molecular keys to growing old - and they're
totally controlled by small families of genes. The visible signs of ageing
have been attributed to a protein build-up associated with the FoxM1B gene,
found on chromosone 12, which aids skin healing and replenishment but goes
into semi-retirement as people grow older. Researchers have already dubbed
it the 'fountain of youth' gene. It's likely we are now closing in on the genetic 'biological clock' that controls ageing.
The Weekend Australian Magazine, 17 May 2003