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Opinion: Mandurah Community Health and Wellbeing Profile makes for alarming reading

Vanessa SchmittMandurah Coastal Times

IT’S been so cold lately, I have been lax in walking my dog Murphy.

I am not alone either in letting my health and fitness slide.

The City of Mandurah’s Mandurah Community Health and Wellbeing Profile makes for alarming reading.

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It showed almost 40 per cent of adults were not active enough and were overweight. A whopping 27.6 per cent of adults were obese.

Almost half of adults eat less than two serves of fruit daily, while 92 per cent eat less than five serves of vegetables a day.

Thirty per cent of adults drink alcohol at high-risk levels for long-term harm. Sixteen per cent of adults smoke.

Councillors will consider hiring a Healthy Communities Coordinator and allocating about $60,000 for a health plan.

It might seem like a lot of money, but these programs can influence health and wellbeing in the community.

A health plan will only save us money in the future, such as in reduced sick days and medical expenses. Prevention is better than a cure.

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