The program known as Healthy Communities Circular Head is being offered by the Circular Head Council as a free service for residents not currently in the paid workforce. The program is one of many in the region arising from the Cradle Coast Authority's participation in the Federal Government's Healthy Communities Initiative, all aimed at encouraging healthy eating practices and lifestyles and reducing the incidence of chronic disease.

The Healthy Communities Circular Head program has been devised by Kirk Pinner. Select sessions of the program will be delivered by professionals from Work & Training Ltd, Circular Head Council and a variety of health, nutrition and exercise experts. Each Tuesday and Thursday during the ten week program, participants will meet at different locations around Smithton for sessions combining 90 minutes of information sharing and 30 minutes of fun exercise activities.

Each two hour session has been designed to provide practical tips on healthy living in a supportive and social environment and to ensure that all aspects of wellbeing are covered. Program manager, Kirk Pinner, identified many connected factors that had the potential to prevent people from maintaining healthy lifestyles and sought to address these in the Healthy Communities Circular Head program.

"Some of the biggest barriers to healthy living are said to be insufficient time and difficulties in sorting through all of the available health information," Mr Pinner said. "As a result we've included sessions on time management, setting priorities and handling stress in the program, plus easy to follow nutrition education and a variety of practical cooking and physical exercise activities."

One session on Healthy Eating will include a 'hands on' healthy cooking lesson conducted by Chef Ben Burgess who was part of the team of Chefs that catered in the Athletes Village at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. In this lesson participants will prepare themselves a delicious healthy lunch and be provided with quick and easy breakfast ideas, healthy meal and snack ideas for kids and adults, and healthy barbeque recipes ready for summer. A healthy eating habits checklist and nutritional information will also be shared to introduce recommended food group serving sizes.

Registrations for the free ten week program are open until Monday 15 November with the first program commencing at 10am on Tuesday 23 November. A second program is scheduled to commence in early March 2011. Interested residents in the Circular Head municipality should 2 register by calling Deb Mainwaring at the Council on 6452 4800. To be eligible for the program, residents must be over 18 years of age and not currently in paid employment.

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The Healthy Communities Initiative is a federally funded COAG program to maximize participation in lifestyle modification health programs, particularly for people not in the paid workforce. Twelve Local Government Areas Australia wide have been selected to participate in a pilot of the program, including the Cradle Coast via the Cradle Coast Authority.

Media Contacts:

Kirk Pinner
Healthy Communities Circular Head Program Manager
Ph: 0437 675 332

Deb Mainwaring
Recreation and Community Officer
Circular Head Council
Ph: 03 6452 4800

Bev Hayhurst
Healthy Communities Coordinator
Cradle Coast Authority
Ph: 03 6431 6285

A joint release by the Cradle Coast Authority and Circular Head Council 4 November 2010