South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) has developed the Growing Healthy Kids in South Western Sydney action plan as a strategic approach to the prevention and management of childhood overweight and obesity. This plan will provide an opportunity for agencies and communities across South Western Sydney to work together on a wider range of actions.

The target is to reduce childhood overweight and obesity rates over the next five years (to 2025).

Headline Initiatives

Growing Healthy Kids aims to:

• Engage the parents of young children in their homes and communities
• Create healthier physical activity and food environments
• Reach multicultural, Aboriginal and other communities in need
• Provide weight-management advice and services

What We Currently Do

• Partner with schools and centre-based childcare services
• Extensive implementation of Munch and Move and Live Life Well@School (LLW@school)
• Encourage schools to adopt the Healthy School Canteen Strategy
• Develop and resource food security initiatives – e.g. school breakfast programs
• 'Students as Lifestyle Activists (SALSA)' trial in 3 secondary schools

What We Propose To Do

• Engage participating families of young children who use Family Day Care services in an enhanced healthy eating, active living intervention
• Promote availability of water in secondary schools
• Implement SALSA in more secondary schools (based on trial results)
• Work with local sporting organisations to increase participation rates of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in organised sports and recreation 
• Before and after school care healthy eating and active living practices

What We Will Do

• Promote adoption of 'harder to implement' Munch and Move and LLW@School practices in school and childcare settings
• Trial of Physical Activity 4 Everyone (PA4Everyone) in secondary schools 
• Participate in Active Travel study in secondary school
• Support implementation of the statewide Family Day Care (FDC) healthy eating and active living program
• Revised school canteen initiative (Department of Education (DoE)

• Encourage participation in Premier’s Sporting Challenge (DoE)
• Ongoing implementation of the Wellbeing Framework for Schools (DoE)) Sporting schools (Australian Sports Commission)
• Expanded implementation of Finish with the right stuff (ADF)
• Trial Healthy Food Policy in sports settings (Office of Sport)