Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the importance of nutrition, what it means in the health space and how it can change lives and communities for the better. We all go on a health journey, a food journey and an exercise journey through our lives. I've spoken many times before about the importance of preventive health and how it can improve your life. Nutrition is part of the preventive strategy for a healthy, long life. Nutrition is important for a healthy physical and mental state.

When people think about nutrition, most think about a food pyramid, but nutrition is more than that. It's more important than ever that we educate ourselves as there is so much information out in the community on social media now about different diets and lifestyle choices. Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. In our case, it provides humans with nutrients which will be metabolised to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nutrition may call malnutrition and poor health outcomes. Ultimately, nutrition is a critical part of health and development for your entire life. Better nutrition is important. It can't be expressed more importantly than when we talk about infants, child health, maternal health, stronger immune systems, safer pregnancies and childbirths, lower risks of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and longevity. It can stave off disease and, potentially, early death. This is why it's so important that it's interconnected to the way we are educated and the way our lives are lived. I'm establishing a friends of nutrition group, and I encourage my colleagues in this chamber to be part of that new exciting friendship group.