The Victorian Government says it will allocate $127 million to deal with the rising rates of obesity and chronic illnesses if it is re-elected later this month.
The funding would cover a range of services and programs, including supporting people at risk of developing chronic conditions and include $20 million to expand the Healthy Together website.
It has also allocated $30 million to boost to the Government’s anti-smoking initiatives and $5 million to reduce diabetes.
The latest Victorian Health Survey found the number of people with type two diabetes has risen from close to 14 per cent in 2003 to just over 17 per cent.
Premier Denis Napthine said the Coalition was committed to improving the health and well being of Victorians.
“It’s…concerning in terms of the cost to the Victorian community, in terms of lost productivity through the lifestyles of people are choosing,” he said.
“It’s also the additional health costs because of these lifestyle conditions.
“We know that having an unhealthy lifestyle impacts on longevity, quality of life and cost to the system and the figures show that obesity already costs Victoria somewhere between $400 and $800 million a year.”
Health Minister David Davis said the costs to the system showed how important health prevention is.
“Clearly prevention is better than cure and whilst there will always be a very significant need for those who need acute assistance, the more we can do to prevent illnesses, the more we can do to keep people healthy, the better,” he said.
“These are significant interventions, interventions that will work as part of our system.
“This is a partnership between government and the community. Obviously government can’t do this alone.
“We need to manage the challenge into the future.”