Deadly Choices: Making positive lifestyle choices

We all know about some of the alarming statistics around Indigenous health, including that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are two and a half times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to contract a chronic disease.

Chronic diseases include problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes or respiratory and kidney disease.

But what is less well known is that chronic disease is preventable. Being healthy and eating more fruit and vegetables and cutting down on things that are bad for you, like soft drinks and takeaway food, can help lower the risk of chronic disease.

Through Closing the Gap, the Australian Government funds initiatives to promote local health messages and reduce the rate of chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Deadly Choices, an initiative of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in South East Queensland, is one local project working hard to help Queensland communities make healthy choices. The project promotes the importance of improving health for individuals and their families by eating good tucker, exercising regularly and giving up the smokes.

The crew have developed a series of television ads promoting healthy lifestyles and featuring well know rugby league players, such as Sam Thaiday and Scott Prince, to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make positive lifestyle choices.

Gordon Langton, a community engagement officer from the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health and one of the stars of the ad, says that everyone needs to play a role in being healthy.

“Aboriginal health means more than just your physical wellbeing. It’s your emotional wellbeing, everything connected to your family you know, so closing the gap it does affect the whole family.

“We need the whole family’s input to close that gap,” Gordon said.