July 2011

Life! program presence at the recent ISBNPA conference

From 15–18 June 2011 the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) was held in Melbourne.

The ISBNPA conference provides a forum to discuss and debate the influences of nutrition and physical activity, and strategies to promote healthy eating and physical activity in a population health context.

The theme of the 2011 meeting was ‘Promoting healthy eating and physical activity: The latest international research’.

The Life! program was represented with a poster presentation on 17 June titled ‘Nutrition and physical activity in individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes’.

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SunSmart urges Victorians to roll up their sleeves for winter vitamin D

With the colder months upon us, SunSmart is encouraging Victorians to get some sun exposure to help with vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, muscles and overall health. More recently vitamin D has also been linked to diabetes (type 1 and 2) although more research is needed.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer but is also the best natural source of vitamin D.

Who is at risk of vitamin D deficiency?

• older Victorians;
• people who are housebound or in institutional care;
• people with naturally very dark skin;
• babies and infants of vitamin D deficient mothers (especially breastfed babies);
• people with little or no sun exposure (such as those who cover their skin for religious or cultural reasons);
• people with conditions or taking medications that affect vitamin D metabolism (including obesity, end stage liver disease, renal disease and fat malabsorption syndromes such as cystic fibrosis, coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease).

How much sun is enough?
The amount of UV exposure needed to help with vitamin D levels depends on the time of year, location, skin type, day-to-day activity and individual circumstances.

In Victoria, average UV levels are below three between May and August, making it a great time to roll up your sleeves and get some sun to help with your vitamin D levels.

At this low level, the UV is generally not damaging to the skin and sun protection is not required unless in Alpine areas, near highly reflective surfaces such as snow or outside for extended periods.

People should aim for 2–3 hours of sun exposure to face, arms and hands or equivalent area of skin (fair to olive skin) with 3–6 times this amount required for people with naturally very dark skin.

As the body can only absorb a limited amount at any one time, exposure should be spread across the week. To increase safe sun exposure, encourage your participants to:

• roll up their sleeves when out at lunch time
• walk on the sunny side of the street
• exercise outdoors rather than go to the gym.

Concerned about vitamin D?
If you or your participants are concerned about your vitamin D levels, a visit to the doctor is warranted. Levels can be checked with a simple blood test and inadequate levels treated with supplements.

A balanced approach
Given how UV levels vary across the year in Victoria, balance is definitely the key.

The times required for sun protection in specific localities can be found on the SunSmart website, on TV during the nightly news on ABC and Channel Ten and in the weather section of the daily newspapers.

The SunSmart iPhone app is a handy, free tool that allows users to find out if they’re getting enough sun to help with vitamin D levels and alerts the user to their daily sun protection needs.

For more information on vitamin D, skin cancer, UV and sun exposure recommendations, please see the SunSmart website.

Never try to boost vitamin D levels at any other time of the year through excessive UV exposure or solariums as both are associated with an increased risk of skin cancer.

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‘Go for your life’ phased out from 30 June 2011

From 30 June 2011, the ‘Go for your life’ brand will be phased out as the Victorian Government Department of Health develops new initiatives to ensure the wellbeing of Victorians today and into the future.

Further information about new initiatives to address the rising prevalence of preventable lifestyle related chronic diseases and to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours across a variety of settings, including early childhood, pre-schools, schools, workplaces and communities will be made available shortly.

What will happen to the various components of Go for your life?

‘Go for your life’ website
Information published on the ‘Go for your life’ website will not be maintained from 30 June 2011 with any relevant material progressively transferred to the Better Health Channel website, the Department of Health website or archived for reference use only.

‘Go for your life’ Infoline
The ‘Go for your life’ infoline (1300 73 98 99) will also cease to operate from 30 June 2011.

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Latest WorkHealth results show many workers in the dark about health status

Latest data from the WorkHealth program shows many workers are unaware they’re at risk of common, yet preventable, chronic diseases.

The Monash University analysis of the first 300,000 WorkHealth checks conducted in Victoria reveals that 84% of participating workers found to be at high risk of type 2 diabetes and 83% at high risk of cardiovascular disease rated their health as ‘good’, ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ when given the options ‘excellent’, ‘very good’, ‘good’, ‘fair’ or ‘poor’.

Tim McLean, WorkHealth Spokesperson, said “that 66% of workers tested have a medium to high risk for type 2 diabetes and nearly 18% have a medium to high risk for cardiovascular disease” and that “the majority of participating workers don’t eat enough fruit or vegetables or do enough exercise, and more than a third are drinking alcohol at risky levels”. These are the types of habits that put them in the higher risk categories for chronic disease.

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Run Melbourne and raise funds for diabetes

The annual Run Melbourne, presented by The Age, will be held this year on Sunday 17 July. The event includes a half marathon (21.1km), 10km run and a 5km walk, starting and finishing at Federation Square.

Why not promote this event to your participants as a way to increase their physical activity level, no matter what their current level?

At the same time, participants can fundraise for Diabetes Australia – Vic to ensure we can continue to represent all people affected by diabetes and those at risk.

Click here to register and create your own fundraising page!

We are the peak consumer body and leading charity representing all people affected by diabetes and those at risk.

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