• Nutrition and healthy eating
• Healthy Food Partnership
• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour
• Overweight and Obesity

Nutrition and healthy eating

The Population Health and Sport Division, within the Department of Health is responsible for developing and evaluating national policy, resources and initiatives in the areas of nutrition and healthy eating, health promoting physical activity and promoting healthy weight.

Healthy Food Partnership

The Healthy Food Partnership will provide a mechanism for collective, voluntary action between government, the public health sector and the food industry to encourage healthier eating.

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Being physically active and limiting your sedentary behaviour every day is essential for your health and wellbeing. Regular physical activity has many health benefits and plays an important role in promoting healthy weight. It can help prevent heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, and also improve psychological wellbeing. Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines outline the minimum levels of physical activity required for health benefits and include ways to incorporate physical activity and minimise sedentary behaviour in everyday life.

Overweight and Obesity

Obesity and lifestyle-related related chronic conditions place considerable burden upon individuals and these conditions are complex, long-term public health problems. In 2017-18 the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Health Survey showed that two thirds (67.0%) of Australian adults were overweight or obese (12.5 million people), an increase from 63.4% in 2014-15.