Health Ministers from across the nation have launched Our Health Our Future: A National Dialogue on Healthy Weights – a key step in identifying actions to curb childhood obesity and promote healthy weights in Canada, says Health and Wellness Minister Carolyn Bertram.
“The ideas generated through the Our Health Our Future initiative will help everyone, including Government, to shape future programs, policies and initiatives to promote healthy weights, healthy eating and physical activity,” said Minister Bertram. “All sectors of society have a role to play in addressing this issue, and we want to encourage shared action and leadership to reverse the trend of childhood obesity.”
Our Health Our Future, is designed to engage all Canadians in a national conversation to address the factors that lead to obesity and to help generate a plan of action to promote healthy weights in children and youth. The outcomes of the dialogue will contribute to a report and recommendations for collective actions for the meeting of federal, provincial and territorial Health Ministers in November 2011.
Our Health Our Future: A National Dialogue on Healthy Weights includes a website with opportunities to share ideas online, as well as in-person dialogues in various locations across the country, and a national summit.
“In Prince Edward Island, we are strongly encouraging our young people to go online, and share their ideas and suggestions at the Our Health Our Future website,” said Minister Bertram. “We will also be co-hosting, with Health Canada, a stakeholder engagement session in May. This will be an opportunity for local stakeholders to come together and contribute to the national dialogue.”
All Islanders, especially youth, are encouraged to visit www.ourhealthourfuture.gc.ca to share their ideas for change and to commit to their own action on healthy weights.
Discussion areas for the nation dialogue include making our social and physical environments more supportive of physical activity and healthy eating, identifying and addressing obesity risks in children early, increasing access to nutritious foods, and decreasing the marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar or sodium to children.
“I’m very excited to roll out this national dialogue with my colleagues,” said the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health. “This is a groundbreaking event, bringing together for the first time in Canada a broad and diverse group of people to identify actions to this issue. Everyone has a role to play in helping children and youth live a healthy life.”
Our Health Our Future: A National Dialogue on Healthy Weights is a key step in implementing Curbing Childhood Obesity: A Federal, Provincial and Territorial Framework for Action on Healthy Weights. Through the Framework, Ministers of Health and/or Health Promotion/Healthy Living, as well as their colleagues in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation, have agreed to make childhood obesity a collective priority, to champion this issue, and to coordinate joint and/or complementary actions within many areas of Canadian society to help create the conditions for healthy weights so that children have the healthiest possible start in life.
For more information:
Our Health Our Future: A National Dialogue on Healthy Weights
Curbing Childhood Obesity: A FPT Framework for Action to Promote Healthy Weights