Food plan to help prevent health risks

A pilot program will roll out in South Hedland and Newman this month to help Aboriginal people make informed nutrition choices.

The Yarn Up group education workshops are funded by Rural Health West and run by Diabetes WA.

The program is designed to help prevent conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes in at-risk Aboriginals.

Rural Health West general manager, regional services Vivienne Duggin said the workshops would enhance nutrition awareness and understanding of how healthy eating could delay or prevent health conditions.

“The Diabetes WA nutritionist and public health practitioner will be using the interactive Feltman tool to show the group what happens in the body of someone with type 2 diabetes,” she said.

“The Feltman tool was developed by Diabetes Australia Victoria and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations as a practical, hands-on tool to help people visualise how diabetes affects various parts of the body if left untreated.”

Diabetes WA data revealed an average of 29 people are diagnosed with diabetes each day Statewide.

Diabetes WA Management Unit Manager Sophie McGough said the organisation looked forward to the workshops being a two-way learning process.

She said the organisation acknowledged and respected the Nyiyaparli and Kariyarra people as traditional owners of Newman and South Hedland.

Rural Health West delivered just under 10,000 occasions of service to people living in the Pilbara during 2016-2017.