Promoting healthy eating
What is healthy eating?
Over recent years there has been much confusion about what healthy eating actually means, mainly because of the many so-called authorities and publications offering nutrition advice or quick fixes.
VicHealth believes there are no 'good' or 'bad' foods and that restrictive (or fad) dieting, as a measure to lose weight, is an unhealthy approach to weight management.
Healthy eating is not only about eating nutritious foods but also about the integral and enjoyable part of daily life that food offers.
VicHealth considers 'nutritious foods' to be:
- a wide variety of foods (as per the Dietary Guidelines for Australians)
- that are balanced against the body’s requirement for growth, metabolism and physical activity,
- are consumed regularly and consistently, and
- remain unchanged in their definition, despite the conflicting messages in the public arena.
VicHealth's approach to healthy eating
In the past, VicHealth has funded research, community development and other activities to promote healthy eating. The focus had been on improving individual awareness about the importance of healthy eating and support activities to encourage behaviour changes to purchase, cook and eat a range of food for healthy eating.
In recent years, there has been growing evidence that social and economic disadvantage prevent people from accessing a variety of nutritious and culturally acceptable foods.
VicHealth's current aim is to:
- increase the understanding of factors that influencing eating patterns
- help reverse the trends in obesity over the next 10 years
For more read VicHealth's Healthy Eating–Food Security Investment Paper 2005–2010
We fund projects that work to improve access to a variety of food in disadvantaged local governments, including the Food for All Program, and we invest in strategies that complement:
Strategic Inter-Governmental Nutrition Alliance
A sub-committee of the National Public Health Partnership, established to coordinate action to improve the nutritional health of Australians.
This campaign is part of the Victorian Government's broader Healthy and Active Victoria strategy.
The Department of Health and Ageing's national action agenda for children and young people and their families.