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Major KOALA Milestone reached
KOALA at Mater Healthy Lifestyle Program Study Progress

Thank you to all the KOALA families and community supporters for your ongoing commitment to the program and most importantly to all the KOALA Families for their great efforts to stay on your healthy weight journey. We have now finished formal recruitment into the program but will be following our 100 families for a minimum of 12 months as part of the program.

We still need some more non-overweight control children for a single assessment though so email us if you have a suitable healthy child aged 6-10 years old who may be eligible for this assessment.

At this stage as we do not have funding beyond the end of 2009, the KOALA program will finish early next year. We are actively seeking further funding from various sources to try continue the program which we think has helped many children and their families to stay healthier and happier.

Major KOALA Milestone reached
September 2008 : We are pleased to announce that KOALA Program has reached over 100 children and families in Brisbane. We are still recruiting until the end of 2008 for the final and 3rd phase of the Program and are about to commence a second series of the Lifestyle Triple P Parenting course and the Scouts Eat Well Be Active Family Fun Camps in September and October, respectively. Dr. Koala and the Healthy Lifestyle Team are happy to report that almost all children and families who have participated in the Scouts Active Camp Program and Lifestyle Triple P course have had major beneficial effects on their health, lifestyle and well-being. Thank you again to our wonderful community partners in particular Scouts QLD, the Heart Foundation and Diabetes Australia QLD and SEAGP Brisbane. Keep up the great support that we truely value and contnue to need into 2009 and hopefully beyond to make this Program sustainable to help more children families.
Take a walk, lazy teenagers told
September 2008 : MORE than half of all Australian teens don't walk or ride around their neighbourhood at all, research shows.
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Health groups back traffic light labels
September 2008 : A "traffic light" system of labelling that identifies unhealthy foods in red and healthy foods in green is needed to help combat rising obesity rates, according to health and consumer groups. ...
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New Childrens Television Standards Miss the Mark for Australian Parents
August 2008 : The Childrens Television Standards govern the content of advertisements shown during kids's viewing times. Read The Parents Jurys response to the draft
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Junk food ad bans on the menu have your say
August 2008 : The Bligh Government will consider banning junk food advertising on childrens television to help reverse the alarming rate of overweight and obese children in Queensland
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Courier mail article
April 2008 : Courier Mail Q magazine article on Koala project
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Intense exercise not obesity solution
29 April 2008: A "ONE size fits all" approach to children's fitness will not solve the growing obesity crisis, a UniSA physiotherapist says. ... Read on
Junk Food Enticing Kids Through World Wide Web 17 April 2008
17 April 2008: Unhealthy food promotion is now monopolising the pages ... Read on
New news!!
May 2008 : Koala Scouts QLD Family Weekend "Eat Well Be Active" Camps have succesfully kicked off in March at the Karingal Scouts camping site in South Brisbane.

The camps were are a big hit with the Koala children and families!


Scouts Leader "Wombat" adds his hand print to the hand signatures of all the Koala Active Kids who attended the second Koala Scouts camp.

Raft building, kayaking, ball games, bush walking, fruit Olympics and and many other fun activities with lots of healthy food and drinks were enjoyed by all.


Did you know Koalas can swim - they can build rafts that float too!! Well done!

With further support from the Mazda Foundation we have been able to secure funding for more Koala Scouts camps for more families later this year.

Koala Active day
12th January 2008 : Koala Active day on Jan 12th 2008 at Riverlife Adventure Centre with great support of our sponsors at Riverlife, My-Gym, Scouts QLD and Inergize Fitness and Frucor My-Zone Water Drinks a big success - Thank you!
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The great big food fight
20 December 2007 : They don't like them, they don't want them and frequently they'll chuck them across the .. Read on
Throw out kids' TVs and get them outside
20 December 2007: BANNING junk food advertising will have no effect on the obesity epidemic, experts have suggested .... Read on
Grab them while they're young, says sports chief
20 December 2007: The obesity epidemic will not be solved until all primary school students are compelled to participate in sport ... Read on
Koala joins the National Institutes of Health "We Can" inititaive
29 November 2007: The Koala program is the first "We Can" Community Site in Australia, and only the 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere ... Read on
The Koala At Mater Healthy Lifestyle Program joins the National Institutes of Health "We Can" initiative to promote health and well-being in children
29th November 2007:
The Koala program is the first "We Can" Community Site in Australia, and only the 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere and the 6th international site outside the USA with over 450 USA Sites running this NIH initiative since 2005.

Please join us in the Koala We Can Community to enhance children' and families physical activity, healthy eating and well-being.
We're still slaves to the sugary fizz
6 December 2007: Australians appear to be heeding the call to drink fewer sugary soft drinks, and are instead guzzling Read on
Treats threaten kids
6 December 2007: Up to half of all parents rely on popular treats such as Tiny Teddies, juice boxes or lolly snakes to get kids to sit still .. Read on
Thin line divides family unit
13 August 2007:The Drummond family who are part of the Koala research programme give an interview to the Courier Mail .... Read on
Golden Casket Foundation recipients commemorated
7th March 2007:
the recipients of the latest round of Golden Casket Foundation grants were presented with commemorative plaques at a ceremony at the Botanical Gardens. Amongst them was Dr Gary Leong from the Mater Children's Hospitals (pictured with Bill Thorburn). Dr Leong is looking forward to commencing a pilot program called Koala. This is a child obesity clinical research program to help prevent and treat childhood obesity. Golden Casket wishes all the grant recipients well for the coming projects.
Third of cancer deaths 'could be prevented'
25 October 2007: Up to a third of Australian cancer deaths could be prevented if the next Federal Government ramped up its ... Read on
Boxing burns fat at school
25 October 2007: 25 October 2007: School children are among a growing number of people choosing boxercise for fitness. Read on
Poverty, race link to childhood obesity: study
25 October 2007: 25 October 2007: An Australian study has found that children are more likely to be obese if they are from low-income families, and the risk is ... Read on
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