NEWS RELEASE
November 29, 2006
McGuinty Government Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living
International Conference Encourages People To Eat Healthier and Be More Physically Active
TORONTO — The McGuinty government’s two-day international Healthy Eating & Active Living Conference kicks off today, bringing together public health, sport and recreation professionals, community workers and others.
“We are on the side of Ontario families who care about their health,” said Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson. “That’s why we’ve created a forum for experts to share their wealth of knowledge, practical experiences and best practices related to nutrition and physical activity. Our ultimate objective is to inspire individuals, organizations, communities and government to work together to create a culture of health and well-being across Ontario.”
The Healthy Eating & Active Living Conference offers an exciting mix of keynote addresses and interactive panel discussions, which will focus on children and youth, building healthy communities, healthy public policy and public education.
"Government policies and programs must play a role in fostering social and economic conditions that support good health," said keynote speaker Roy Romanow, former Premier of Saskatchewan and Chair of the 2001 Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. "Ontario’s embrace of health promotion is a clear step in the right direction. Concerted action on the broad determinants of health, such as nutrition choices and active living, along with adequate income, housing, early learning and a clean environment, hold tremendous potential for preventing illness and improving the health of individuals and communities.”
“Around the world, governments are seeking to improve the quality of life of their citizens by encouraging the development of lifelong practices of healthy eating and active living,” said plenary speaker Sandra Matsudo, General Director of the Physical Fitness Research Center in São Caetano do Sul (CELAFISCS), São Paulo, Brazil. “Through its recent health promotion initiatives and with this conference, Ontario is demonstrating leadership and laying the foundation for a healthier population and a more sustainable health care system.”
This initiative supports Ontario’s Action Plan for Healthy Eating and Active Living, launched in June 2006 by the Ministry of Health Promotion, and ACTIVE2010, Ontario’s sport and physical activity strategy. The $10 million Healthy Eating and Active Living action plan offers new programs and strategies, and builds on existing ones, to support healthy eating and active living in Ontario.
More than 600 attendees from across Ontario — principally public health, health promotion, sport, and recreation professionals and university researchers — registered for the conference. For the full list of speakers and to find out more about the conference, please visit www.mhp.gov.on.ca.
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For further information:
Adam Grachnik
Minister’s Office
416-326-8497
Julie Rosenberg
Ministry of Health Promotion
416-326-4833
