Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are an estimated 1.5 million people under 18 who are considered overweight or obese. This translates to some 20 to 25 per cent of children and adolescents. About 20 to 25 per cent of Australian children are overweight or obese and the proportion is increasing at an alarming rate, particularly since the mid-1980s, a trend which reflects international patterns. At the same time the aerobic fitness of children and health generally has taken a sharp downward turn since the 1970s. Between 1985 and 1987, population prevalence of overweight increased by 60 to 70 per cent. Obesity increased two- to four-fold and combined obesity levels doubled, suggesting that the problem is not only increasing but, as alluded to, is accelerating at a very alarming rate.

Obesity is something that all of us here in the parliament should be very mindful of in terms of its impact upon the young people of our respective electorates. It is defined as a condition in which excess fat has accumulated to the extent that health may be impaired. The primary cause of obesity is generally understood to be an energy imbalance—a high-energy intake, mostly from food, coupled with very poor levels of energy expenditure, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behaviour: not moving around and not engaging in significant physical activities.

Perhaps the most single important time for our young Australians in particular to increase their physical activity and to decrease their sedentary activity—such as watching television, playing computer games or just lounging around—is between the hours of 3 pm to 6 pm, after school. I want to lead on in this presentation to parliament to the Active After-hours Communities program, which is a very exciting initiative of the Howard government that has been developed and overseen by, amongst other agencies, the Australian Sports Commission as part of the Howard government’s Building a Healthy, Active Australia package.

I had the opportunity of visiting one of the very wonderful schools in my electorate of Ryan last week, the Jindalee state primary school, where I was able to witness for myself the wonderful activities of the schoolchildren of Jindalee state primary. They were able to participate in a whole number of activities. In the parliament today I want to commend the parents of those children who allowed them to participate in this program. It is a very safe program. It is a very strictly monitored program in terms of the safety and supervision of the children. I want to encourage more of the parents of schoolchildren, not only at Jindalee state primary but at the other schools in the Ryan electorate where this program is taking place, to allow their children to participate because it really does have a big positive impact on the kids.

The schools involved are Good News Lutheran School, Jamboree Heights school and Middle Park school as well as, as I mentioned, Jindalee school. This is a program where feedback from parents and the children has been overwhelmingly positive. The surveys say that some 75 per cent of children want this program to continue into next year. Of the schools surveyed, 81 per cent believe that the after school hours program is very beneficial for the children’s social skills as well as their physical activities.

Over 90 per cent of the schools believe that the program improves the attitudes of the children towards each other and towards school officials and adults in general. So I would very warmly commend the program. It is something that I have seen for myself to be very positive. The after school hours program is, as I mentioned, a major component of the Building a Healthy, Active Australia package, whose aim is to encourage a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating and increased levels of physical activity amongst young Australians in particular. I think that it is commendable for parents to encourage their children to participate in these programs.

The government aims to involve 3,250 primary school students and has a target of involving 150,000 primary schoolchildren by the end of 2007. This is program whose consequences will be felt throughout the country and throughout the homes of Australia. As the federal member for Ryan, I want to thank all those who were very supportive of my visit and who made it a very enjoyable visit indeed.