Mandatory health checks considered to fight obesity


COMPULSORY health checks for children at day care centres will be considered to target Queensland's spiralling obesity epidemic, Health Minister Stephen Robertson says.

The measure is one being considered by the State Government as it targets preventative lifestyle diseases – smoking, obesity, alcohol and sun exposure – which are clogging the state's health care system and costing almost $5 million in funding annually.

Mr Robertson said details on how such a plan would be carried out had not yet been discussed but it was hoped parents could be given information about warning signs of bad health in their children.
"We haven't decided how we're going to provide for greater screening of our young people," he said today.
"I want to look at a range of options but compulsion should always be the last measure that you look at.
"Education is always preferred but I want to look at the best ways to get these messages through and change some unfortunate behaviours."

He said Queensland had some of the nation's highest rates of obesity, smoking and sun exposure and individuals had to start taking responsibility.

The Government had set the target of making Queensland the healthiest state, he said.

But it could not "sit down with families on a Friday night when they watch the footy and order the pizza".
Mr Robertson said it was "frightening" how many children were being affected by the avoidable and chronic disease Type 2 diabetes because of bad diets and inactive lifestyles.

"That's a terrible indictment on us as a community and we need to take some drastic steps to turn that around," he said.

But the Health Minister said he disagreed with another suggestion put forward of a user-pays health system for the obese.