CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (16:50): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister advise what the government is doing to tackle childhood obesity?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (16:51): In South Australia, about 20 per cent of four year olds—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The voice of Christmas past again. It comes back occasionally, doesn't it? You can hear the echo every now and then.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Christmas future, is it? I look forward to that. The rate of obesity amongst four year olds, I have told this house before and I hope everybody would know, is about 20 per cent, and it is growing about 1 per cent a year. Childhood obesity is a tragedy for individual children which, if left unaddressed, has the potential to entirely dominate the health care system in future years. There is no single silver bullet to solve childhood obesity issues. It is a complex problem with numerous causes and consequently requires a multifactorial solution—I know the member for Heysen likes jargon.

As one part that solution, I launched the Eat Well Be Active Communities program yesterday in conjunction with my colleague the Minister for Education and Children's Services. Up to 20 sites across the state, likely to be local government regions, will become Eat Well Be Active Communities over the next four years with almost $2 million allocated over the next 12 months to establish the first five sites. This program is on top of the $14 million investment in fighting childhood obesity by the state government announced last year.

The Eat Well Be Active Communities is largely based on a highly successful French strategy called EPODE, which stands for 'Ensemble, prévenons l'obésité des enfants', which means 'Together, let's prevent obesity in children'. The principle behind EPODE is that if children are properly educated they can in turn change the eating and exercise habits of their family. As part of the program, teachers are shown how to incorporate healthy eating into the curriculum and dieticians visit classes and organise lectures on healthy eating for parents.

While the program starts in schools, its success depends on the support of entire communities. The program requires leadership from state and local government and the active participation of health services, businesses, shops, workplaces, community organisations and local media. EPODE is a pragmatic program that recognises the virtues of moderation. No single food group is stigmatised, but the emphasis is on achieving a proper dietary balance. The EPODE program has a proven track record of success and has seen a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in obesity rates in children in the French towns in which it has been trialled.

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Jean-Michel Borys, the founder and managing director of EPODE. Jean-Michel is currently in Adelaide to address the seventh National Conference of the Australian Health Promoting Schools Association. I had some opportunities for members to meet Mr Borys this afternoon and I am pleased that members from both sides of the house attended and received a briefing from him.

Jean-Michel, I know, is impressed with our existing programs in South Australia and sees the potential for a long-term exchange of ideas between our state and France. The EPODE program will not supersede existing programs but will complement and help to coordinate our current programs, and they include recruiting 10 healthy weight coordinator positions across the state, banning junk foods in public school canteens, working on a ban on junk food advertising during children's TV viewing time, working with preschools to encourage children to swap soft drinks and junk food snacks for water and fruit, introducing the Premier's Be Active Challenge and introducing the Start Right Eat Right healthy food in child care services, which now has over a hundred sites.

I am hopeful that these measures, if they receive proper support in the wider community, including from members of this house, will see obesity plateau and eventually decline in years to come.