Home

With a representative from Kellogg’s defending there product labeling and nutritionist’s asking why such high levels of sugar & salt made for an interesting debate.

Less physical exercise in schools, a more sedentary lifestyle, is it simply energy intake verses expenditure.

With the ultimate option being promoted being lap band surgery are there better ways to tackle the problem?
Is advertising aimed at children influencing buyer behaviour, crating the nag factor, are parents poorly educated to what is healthy food, is food labelling to confusing or distorting the true energy, fat, sugar & salt contents.
What is a tyical serving size, is 30grams of breakfast cereal an average serving size?

There is so much confusion determining what to buy, well it’s quite simple, buy less processed food. The more ingredients, the more additives, flavourings, emulsifiers and preservatives equal a food product that is far removed from it’s original state.

Cooking food using fresh ingredients isn’t that difficult with herbs & spices. Past generations managed quite well at creating fantastic culinary meals.

Is it a case of people not having the time, both parents working or single parents looking for a solution that works to their time contraints?

Is it easier to prepare school lunches that contain processed foods rather than salads, sandwiches, fruit, nuts & water.

We live in an era of low fat everything, butter is considered bad yet Margarine, Vegetable oil, Canola oil etc.(Unnaturally altered foods) are the new alternatives to reduce fat yet why have we increased rates of heart disease, obesity, cancer the list goes on.

In the past we add more naturally based foods, butter, milk, cheese, Fresh veggies & fruit – Grass fed animals all cooked at home.

Are we over complicating the whole issue?
Check out the show on SBS

A very disappointing result last night in the Senate with the Alcopops legislation being overturned by the opposition, lead by Family First senator Steve Fielding who was using his balance of power to push through his own agenda of stopping alcohol advertising during daytime sporting broadcasts (not such a bad idea I must add). Unfortunately Fielding’s agenda didn’t gain any traction so he supported the oppositions stance of refusing to back the 70 per cent tax on pre-mixed drinks from the Alcopop’s legislation.

With youth alcohol binging getting to epidemic levels, a sensible approach needs to be taken. I find it very interesting that the Distillers and those companies effected by the Alcopop’s legislation have indicated that the $300M collected in taxes since April can be kept by the government to be used appropriately.

Ready to drink beverages are extremely sweet and easy to drink as the alcoholic taste is masked by the sugar and sweeteners. An easy way to get the taste for drinking in large quantities without realising the amount of alcohol consumed. Try giving beer or wine to a teenager and see whether they can drink a glass net a lone a litre at their first sitting.
I wish I could say goodbye to $300M and not be too concerned, is there a possibility that the growth of this market segment unabated by huge taxes will bring in substantial revenues in the years to come.
I remember the $20billion payout from the tobacco companies in the US civil suits years ago was relatively cheap for the 4 tobacco companies divided by four over 20 years, hardly enough to make there future uneconomically viable.

The Australian government has blacklisted sites deemed inappropriate which is fair enough but where will it end. The internet is something unlike any medium ever created before, it is all about finding out real information, not filtered by our governments or global media companies.
A classic example of stirring up the hornets nest is Barbara Striesand’s house:.
Barbara requested her house be removed from Google maps, now if Barbara had done nothing & left her property there it would amount to of little interest, now that it has been on many forums and around the internet thousands of times, search for Barbara Striesand’s house and there are hundreds of sites that can assist you.
Secondly where will the censorship stop, will websites with unfavourable political commenatry be censored?

This will have a massive effect on all fitness centres, especially the smaller clubs that are owner operator.
At a time when we are experiencing alarming levels of Obesity and Diabetes, is removing the opportunities to exercise the answer?

The proposed tax will be imposed on every facility at a flat rate of $4.54 per club member, per month – regardless of whether the member attends classes or not.

Help the protest by registering today

Today a prospective client requested that I register as a health provider in order for her to obtain a $100 rebate from our Bootcamps.

After discussions with the health fund in question, I was given some shocking information.
To my dismay I found that Personal training or Group fitness classes were not included under their categories for registration, the following were:

1.Gyms
2.Yoga & pilates
3.First Aid course

The argument from the consultant I spoke with stated that under the government guidelines, they interpreted “Treatment of Illness & sickness” to include the aforementioned categories.

Well firstly, people may not necessarily be attending a gym for treatment of illness or sickness. How do they regulate that even if a person has a referral from their Doctor to attend a gym, that their time will be spent doing appropriate exercise to treat their ailment, that they will be supervised while conducting the prescribed exercise.

Secondly I find it very strange that the Australian Government & the Health Insurance Funds would rather wait until someone suffers from cardiovascular disease, obesity or Diabetes rather than help the person to adopt a healthier lifestyle to reduce or stop the onset of these medical conditions occurring.

Interview any participant of an outdoor group fitness class as to whether there is any benefit or whether their experience is any different from a gym.
It comes as no surprise that involvement in any group class, whether inside or out has enormous benefits.

A fitness trainer conducting outdoor classes using virgin ground must be imaginative with the minimal amount of equipment available. This does not limit or impede their ability to deliver positive outcomes for their clients.

I would like to see a survey of people who have claimed the $100 rebate from the Health Fund in question as to whether a gym membership is being utillised for the sole role of treating an illness or sickness.

Will people be thinking, cool, I can get a $100 off my gym membership?

With obesity & type II Diabetes rates soaring out of control, costing billions in health care every year with this figure to continue it’s upward trajectory to epidemic, is it a really smart initiative by the government/health insurance companies to adopt such a narrow minded model?

We need to see leadership in tackling this problem, adopting the old mantra will not lead to a healthier society in the future.