Households urged to ‘Go for 2 and 5’

The well-known ‘Vegie Man’ will return to TV screens across the Hunter New England Health region from Sunday as part of phase two of the successful ‘Go for 2 and 5’ campaign.

The $1-million campaign, a joint initiative of NSW Health and the Cancer Institute NSW, aims to increase the fruit and vegetable consumption of NSW households.

Head of Hunter New England Health’s Good for Kids. Good for Life. program Dr Colin Bell said the NSW Health campaign began with advertisements in cinemas from April 3 and will now continue with television advertisements airing until mid June.

The memorable ‘Vegie Man’ character struck a cord with audiences during last year’s campaign with data showing promising increases in recommended fruit and vegetable intake:

o The number of people eating five or more serves of vegies each day is up to 16 per cent from 12 per cent
o The number of two or more serves of fruit each day is up to 69 per cent from 67 per cent.

Dr Bell said consuming the recommended two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables not only contributes to good health, but also protects against a number of diseases and helps maintain a healthy weight.

“Results from the latest NSW Health surveys show the uptake of fruit and vegetables has improved in the Hunter, New England and Lower Mid North Coast regions, however more work needs to be done. Only 66 per cent of children in Hunter New England Health region consume the recommended levels of fruit consumption, while just 40.3 per cent of kids ate their daily recommended intake of vegies,” said Dr Bell.

New to this year’s campaign is a fact sheet, ‘Thrifty ways to Go for 2 and 5’, which offers suggestions for smart shopping and the preparation and storage of healthy foods in order to keep costs down.

“Finding inexpensive and easy ways to prepare fruit and vegies is even more important now, with rising interest rates putting extra pressure on families,” said Dr Bell.

Check out the Go for 2 & 5 website for great menu ideas and tips for getting the whole family involved in this important initiative.

Go for 2 and 5 is a key initiative of the NSW Government's Live Life Well campaign, aimed at helping the community to lead healthier lifestyles and avoid ill health. For more information on healthy eating and physical activity go to:

www.gofor2and5.com.au
www.livelifewell.nsw.gov.au
www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au
www.cancerinstitute.org.au

Contact: Nick Hansen

Phone: (02) 4939 2216