Healthy Lifestyles

Did you know that a healthy lifestyle is important for your physical health and your psychological wellbeing? Eating well and exercising are an important part of maintaining good wellbeing and are important for preventing chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, some cancers, sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Get the facts:

The following statistics marked with * are from the 2009 NSW Health survey and apply to people aged 16 years or older.

  • 53% of people in NSW are overweight or obese*
  • 43% of people in NSW do not eat the recommended number of serves (2) of fruit*
  • 90% of people in NSW do not eat the recommended number of serves (5) of vegetables*
  • 45% of people in NSW do not undertake adequate levels of physical activity, being 30 minutes a day, at least five times week*
  • Having excess fat that coats your organs (visceral or intra-abdominal fat) is a risk to your health
  • Increasingly experts believe that visceral or intra-abdominal fat and where it is stored is a better indicator of risk of chronic disease than body mass index (BMI)
  • Your waistline is a useful indicator of your intra-abdominal fat

Check yourself:

  • If you have a waist measurement above 94cm for men and 80cm for women you may still be at risk of serious chronic disease, even if you have a normal BMI
  • Are you eating more than the recommended daily intakes? Visit 'Check your diet' (opens in a new window)
  • Are you exercising enough? Do you do 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week (even if done in three 10 minute bursts)?

Get help:

Find out more about staying healthy: