Do you live in one of Australia’s healthiest local government areas?

In Australia’s 45 healthiest regions, residents live up to eight years longer than the national average and are less prone to chronic* conditions like diabetes* and heart disease, a new report has revealed.

Nationwide, NSW is home to the highest number of physically and mentally healthy local government areas (LGAs), with 13 of the 45, according to new research from insurance company AIA Australia.

SA and WA claim nine each, Victoria has eight, while Tasmania and Queensland have three apiece.

Researchers crunched the latest data from Australia’s Health Tracker, surveyed more than 2000 Australians, and analysed average life expectancy* and public hospital admissions* to identify the nation’s healthiest areas for the AIA Vitality Zones report.

They found a combination of socio-economic* and infrastructure* factors, combined with residents’ positive lifestyle habits and mindsets.

BY THE NUMBERS
According to AIA, people living in the 45 health-forward zones:

• Live up to eight years longer than the national average, with an average lifespan of 83.4 years – a figure that rises to 85.1 years in Victoria’s top LGAs;
• Are 43 per cent less likely to die a “preventable death” from conditions like diabetes and heart and lung disease;
• Have lower rates of most major chronic conditions, including lung conditions, diabetes (both 30 per cent), and kidney and heart disease (14 per cent); and,
• Collectively save the Australian public hospital system an estimated $371.4 million each year, visiting hospitals for general admissions one-third less than the rest of the nation.

CHICKEN OR EGG?
So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Are the residents of these areas healthier because they live there, or are the LGAs healthier because they’re home to health-conscious people?

AIA health expert and GP Preeya Alexander said the people in these areas were “more likely to engage in regular to moderate-intensity exercise, cook nutritious meals, drink water over sweetened beverages, and be connected to family, friends and community”.

But they were also clearly advantaged by where they lived, she added, noting 37 of the 45 LGAs had a socio-economic index score of more than 1000, showing few residents had low incomes, no qualifications and low-skilled occupations.

They also skewed towards metropolitan areas with access to quality green spaces, recreational areas and public transport systems, according to AIA’s findings.

“This research highlights that there are social determinants* of health,” Dr Alexander said. “If everyone had access to health information that was reliable, had higher levels of health literacy and financial stability (that allowed them to) afford fruit and vegetables, and access to green space, that would impact health outcomes.”

Dr Alexander said regardless of where they lived, all Aussies could adopt the healthy habits of residents in these LGAs.

“These people aren’t doing anything that fancy,” she said. “It’s not foolproof*, but it’s about risk reduction.”

Victorian Tracy Gregson said living in beachside suburb Brighton had both encouraged and allowed her to lead a healthy life.

“You can walk to the station, schools, the shops – I can walk around the corner and get good quality, affordable fruit and vegetables,” the mum of three said.

“Every morning, my husband Cameron and I get up at 10 to six and walk the dog or go to the gym, we swim in the bay, play golf, garden, do yoga. Getting into nature is also really important.”

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 45 HEALTH HOTSPOTS

NSW – Blue Mountains, Georges River, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Kuring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, The Hills Shire, Waverley, Willoughby, Woollahra

SA – Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, Burnside, Elliston, Holdfast Bay, Mitcham, Port Adelaide Enfield, Unley, Wakefield

VIC – Bayside, Boroondara, Manningham, Monash, Nillumbik, Queenscliffe, Stonnington, Whitehorse

WA – Cambridge, Canning, Claremont, Cottesloe, Gosnells, Murray, Mosman Park, Nedlands, Perth

TAS – Glenorchy, Hobart, Launceston

QLD – Brisbane, Gympie, Noosa

Source: AIA Vitality Zones report

POLL

GLOSSARY

• chronic: disease or condition that lasts for three months or longer and may get worse in time
• diabetes: a chronic condition marked by high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood
• life expectancy: the length of time a person is expected to live as an average estimate
• admissions: process of allowing people into a hospital a patients for medical care
• socio-economic: related to both social and financial differences between groups of people
• infrastructure: basic systems and services like transport, roads and buildings, plus water and power supplies
• determinants: factors, contributors, things controlling or affecting what happens in a situation
• foolproof: something easily done or simple that won’t fail or allow a mistake to occur

EXTRA READING

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How many Australians were surveyed?
2. Which state is the healthiest, according to the report?
3. How many of the healthiest LGAs are in Victoria?
4. These 45 localities together save the Australian public hospital system how much money each year?
5. How many extra years can residents of these LGAs expect to live?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Creating healthier places to live
Living in these healthy areas where people exercise, eat well and connect with nature, saves the government $374 million in public hospital costs.

Therefore it makes sense for the government to invest more in local government areas (LGAs), like your local shire, to encourage people to be more active, have more green spaces and more affordable healthy food options etc.

If you had a $1 million dollar government grant to spend on your town or suburb, what infrastructure and amenities would you build or introduce to make your town greener and healthier?

Write your list below and sketch your designs for the new areas you plan to introduce to your town.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship, Visual Arts, Design and Technologies, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
What could you and your family do to adapt a healthier lifestyle to increase your life expectancy and general health outcomes?

Write three extra things you could change in your own lifestyle and that families including yours could do together. It could be to do with health, nutrition or exercise.

Write your three ideas below and see if your family will agree to try them out!

1.

2.

3.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Exercise the body and the mind
Exercise is not only important for the body, but it’s a lot of fun as well. Let’s bring more exercise into classroom learning by creating a VCOP PE game.

You can add a VCOP challenge to pretty much any game, and it’s a great way to encourage the teacher to let the class play more games.

Here is an example to get you started, then you create one of your own.

VCOP dodgeball
The normal rules of dodgeball apply. Two teams throw soft balls at each other and if you get hit, you have to sit out. The team who knocks out all the players on the other team, wins.

VCOP challenge: when you get eliminated, collect a mini-whiteboard and a basic clause from the sidelines. Up-level the sentence (make it better) by adding VCOP. When you show the teacher your completed sentence, you can return to the game.

Play for a set amount of time and the team with the most players left on the court wins.

Support: use the “Up-Level It” card set – players have to complete one card from the set instead of completing all VCOP challenges.

What can you come up with?