Healthy Lifestyle for Kids Cancer Council Community Speakers

Our Vision: Our Mission: To defeat cancer through engaging the community Cancer Defeated

About The Cancer Council NSW  Research  Patient support and information  Cancer prevention and screening  Advocacy  Working in the community

Fundraising  Donations  Bequests  Fundraisers  Your own fundraiser

The Greater Western Sydney Region The Community Hub is at 39 Ingham Drive Casula NSW 2170

What is cancer?  Cancer is a disease of cells  Genes instruct a cell to do the right thing at the right time.  Sometimes a cell ignores instructions and grows out of control  This leads to the development of tumours – benign or malignant

Lifestyle Factors that Protect Against Cancer  Being physically active  Eating a healthy diet  Maintaining a healthy body weight

Why are Healthy Eating & Activity Important for Children?  Growth & development  Gives them energy to learn & play  Set up healthy behaviours  Maintain a healthy weight

Tips for Healthy Children  Get Active  Drink water  Limit juice & soft drinks  Eat fruit and vegetables  Pack a healthy lunch box  Eat healthy snacks  Enjoy breakfast

Being Active  At least 1 hr of energetic activity  No more than 2 hours watching TV or small screen recreation

Being Active – Tip for parents  Be a role model  Include activity in your family outings  Offer them a range of physical activities to choose form  Be prepared for activity opportunities  Give gifts that promote activity  Encourage your children to walk or ride to school with supervision.  Make the most of your neighbourhood facilities  Keep it fun  Make being active your way of life

Drink H2O  Water quenches thirst  Tips for drinking more water  Reduced fat milk - for children over 2 years  Breastfeeding is also important for health

Reduce Sugary Drinks  Fruit juice, cordial, soft drinks and sports drinks are high in sugar  These drinks should only be consumed occasionally – not everyday  Offer fruit instead of fruit juice

Reduce Sugary Drinks Sugar per 250ml glass  Water = 0 teaspoons (tsp)  Apple juice = 6 tsp  Soft drinks = 6 tsp  Orange juice (no added sugar) = 4 tsp

Fruits and Vegetables  87% don’t eat enough vegetables  30% don’t eat enough fruit  Potentially protective against cancer Eating more fruit and vegetables is one of the best improvements you can make to your child's diet

How Much Fruit and Vegetables Do We Need? AGE (years)VEGETABLES (serves) FRUIT (serves) 4 – 72 – 41 – 2 8 – 113 – 51 – 2 12 – 184 – 93 – 4 Adults Pregnant Women5 – 64 Breastfeeding75

How Much is a ‘Serve’? One serve of FRUIT is 150 grams of fresh fruit or:

How Much is a ‘Serve’? One serve of VEGETABLES is 75 grams of fresh vegetables or:

Getting children to Eat More Fruit & Veg  Take your children fruit and veg shopping  Let children prepare their own fruit & veg snacks  Add chopped fruit to cereal or porridge  Cut fruit and veg into small bite size pieces  Add extra vegies to sandwiches or meals  Freeze fruit for a cool tasty snack  Grow some vegies or herbs at home in pots

Healthy Lunchboxes Steps to a healthy lunchbox:  Carbohydrate base  Protein food  Vegetables  A bottle of water  One or more pieces of fruit  One or more serves of dairy

Healthy Snacks  Children should be offered a variety of healthy snacks Healthy Snack ideas  Crisp bread with cheese and tomato  Low fat muffins or fruit scones  Fresh or canned fruit  Low fat yoghurt or custard

Start the day with breakfast  Eat a healthy breakfast every morning  Many children skip breakfast  Healthy breakfast ideas - wholegrain breads and cereals, - reduced fat milks and yoghurt, - fruit

Understanding Food Labels  Information on food labels can help you make healthy choices  All food products have a table – called the Nutrition Information Panel, and the ingredients list

Understanding Food Labels  Look at the per 100g or ml column when comparing food or drink products  Look for foods with more than 4g fibre per 100g NutrientsPer 100g - FoodPer 100ml - Drinks Total fatLess than 3gLess than 1.5g Saturated fatLess than 1.5gLess than 0.75g SugarsLess than 5gLess than 2.5g SodiumLess than 120mgLess than 60mg

The Parents Jury  An online network for parents who would like to improve food and physical activity environments of children

Passive smoking & second-hand smoke  Passive smoking is the inhalation of second-hand smoke (SHS)  Exposure to SHS causes illness in adults and children  Avoid exposure to SHS  Make your car and home a smoke-free zone

Quitting smoking  Benefits of quitting: Improved health for you and your kids Better fitness Financial savings  Contact the Quitline on (for the cost of a local call) or go to:

SunSmart Kids  Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world  Childhood exposure increases the risk  Most skin cancers can be prevented

Protecting children’s skin  Check often that children are protected  Encourage children to play in the shade  Re-apply sunscreen every 2 hours

Helpful tips  Choosing hats, clothing and sunscreen  Shade  Role modelling

SunSmart Early Childhood and Primary School Program  Sun protection policies and practices in primary schools and Early Childcare Services  Reducing risk to children and staff  SunSmart sign on display

For More Information  For more information contact the SunSmart Info Line on or visit the website:

Take home messages  Get Active  Drink water  Limit juice & soft drinks  Eat fruit and vegetables  Enjoy breakfast  Eat healthy snacks  Pack a healthy lunch box  Don’t smoke around kids  Protect kids from sun exposure

The Cancer Council Helpline:  From 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday –Call in NSW –TTY (02) for the hearing impaired – for translating & interpreting services 

How you can help  Be cancer smart  Make a donation  Raise funds  Volunteer  Join a research project We can all be smarter about cancer! Find out more – contact us on