Dietitian Claire Ward hopes to help people understand what it means to be a healthy weight at upcoming information sessions. Elisia Seeber
In a diet fad and exercise regime-cluttered world, leading a healthy lifestyle can often send you spinning in circles.
To help Rockingham residents put healthy living into perspective, the City of Rockingham has teamed up with three industry professionals as part of Dietitians Association of Australia Healthy Weight Week this month, from February 16 to 22.
Residents are invited to three free information sessions – Fad Free Healthy Living, Living Well for Older Adults, and Fuelling Healthy Kids – with guest speakers, dietitian Claire Ward, counsellor Ellen Carey and exercise physiologist Clinton Joynes.
The lesson “don’t judge a book by its cover” is just as relevant when it comes to knowing a person’s health, according to Ms Ward, who hopes to help people understand what it means to be a “healthy weight” at the talks.
“Many people define healthy weight by Body Mass Index, but we know that a BMI is actually a poor indicator of health – it is, at best, a population tool,” she said.
“We live in a very weight-focused society and assumptions are made about someone’s health based on their shape and size, but the only way you can really assess if someone’s healthy is by looking at their behaviours.
“Do they eat plenty of fruit and veggies? Do they exercise?
“I’ve had people come to me that have a healthy weight as defined by BMI, but they don’t have a nourishing diet – they’re not physically active, they don’t get much sleep and they’re stressed – so even though they are at a healthy weight, I certainly wouldn’t say they’re healthy.
“Healthy weight isn’t just about BMI, it isn’t just about being skinny, it is about stability, and it’s about healthy behaviours and your mental health too.”
Ms Ward said residents would have a chance to learn about the many diet fads and supplements going around – paleo, raw, vegan, Isagenix, Herbalife – how much food children need to fuel them throughout the day, and important health tips for the elderly.
“If you want the answers and you want to know how to be healthy in the long-term, come and hear what we have to say about a sustainable lifestyle approach,” she said.
For those wanting to start making changes now, Ms Ward recommended starting by taking a look at the Australian dietary guidelines – published by the National Health and Medical Research Council – and finding something physically active to do which is enjoyable.
To register for the sessions, contact 9528 0333.
Information sessions
Fad-Free Healthy Living
Tuesday, February 17
7pm-8.30pm
Gary Holland Community Centre – Kent Street, Rockingham
Learn about adopting a balanced approach to feeling physically and mentally healthy.
Physical activity.
Non-fad-diet nutrition and body acceptance.
Panel discussion with the presenters.
Living Well For Older Adults
Wednesday, February 18
9am-11am
Gary Holland Community Centre – Kent Street, Rockingham
A session for seniors about how to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
Physical activity and nutrition concepts, such as reading food labels, understanding serve sizes and tips for being active every day.
Fuelling Healthy Kids
Saturday, February 21
9.30am-11am
Rockingham Arts Centre, Kent Street, Rockingham
For parents and children about healthy eating to promote healthy growth.
Focusing on helping children and their parents understand what foods they need more or less of.
How to make simple healthy changes.
Fun, hands-on activities for children.
Hear from counsellor Ellen Carey in next week’s Telegraph.
Resources:
Be Well On Your Way: Journey to a More Authentic You (Paperback) tagged “healthy lifestyle” 88 times
Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:25:58 GMT
Be Well On Your Way: Journey to a More Authentic You (Paperback)By Maiysha T Clairborne MD Click for more info Customer Rating:
Be Well On Your Way: Journey to a More Authentic You (Paperback)By Maiysha T Clairborne MD Click for more info Customer Rating: 
Customer tags: mind body spirit(90), self-help(90), empowerment(89), personal growth(88), healthy lifestyle(88), health(88), healthy living(85), healthy life(85), personal development(81), relationships(79), self esteem(35), self-improvement(35) Life On Your Terms: 7 Steps To a More Empowered You (Paperback) tagged “healthy lifestyle” 88 times
Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:27:19 GMT
Life On Your Terms: 7 Steps To a More Empowered You (Paperback)By Maiysha T Clairborne MD 4 used and new from $105.92 Customer Rating: 
Customer tags: self-help(91), empowerment(89), health(89), healthy living(88), healthy lifestyle(88), healthy life(87), personal development(86), mind body spirit(86), personal growth(84), relationships(81), self-improvement(41), self esteem(40) Healthy Lifestyle: Fitness & Diet Tips From CEO of Reserveage …
Watch the video to hear Naomi Whittel, CEO of Reserveage, share her favorite fitness and diet tips for a healthy living. From walking her dog in the morning to taking meratrim daily, check out her go-to secrets to help maintain … http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/naomi-whittels-secrets-healthy-lifestyle
Pink Goes Red stresses healthy lifestyle | WKBN.com
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) February is Heart Awareness month, and organizers in Youngstown are fighting strokes and heart disease by bringing more awareness to the issue. Dressed in red to raise awareness, more … http://wkbn.com/2015/02/07/pink-goes-red-stresses-healthy-lifestyle/
You Can Help Your Child Get More Exercise By Following These 5 Tips
Does your child get enough exercise? You can get your children more active with these 5 fun parenting tips.
Better Health in Four Steps
In just four steps, you can improve your health for the better and this article will show you how. The steps below are bite-sized nuggets of health information you can actually use to live a healthy life. Here we go… Nutritional supplements are the first step As far as I’m concerned, they are very important […]
Top 4 Nutrition Predictions in the New Year
Several food and nutrition trends were in the spotlight this year, including the continued rise of plant-based diets, non-dairy ice creams and superfoods that are blasts from the past — legumes, apples and cabbage. It can be easy to experience nutrition whiplash in the New Year, but don’t be a victim. Get a jump-start on […]
Want to lose weight? Research proves a big breakfast is the first step
If you want to lose weight, you’re not alone. More than half of Americans desire to shed pounds, according to Gallup. This goal inspires people to take action in many ways, from increasing exercise to modifying meals. One thing many people do is skip breakfast in order to lower calorie intake. While this may seem […]
