Walk to School Day, Active Kids are Healthy Kids

Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Education and Training

Jacquie Petrusma,Minister for Sport and Recreation

Children across Australia have put their feet first for a healthier future and participated in support of Walk Safely to School Day to encourage the health benefits of walking regularly.

Today Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff, and Member for Franklin Jacquie Petrusma, Minister for Sport and Recreation, joined students from Montagu Bay Primary School for the event.

Now in its 20th year, the annual event raises awareness of the health, road safety, transport and environmental benefits that regular walking to school can offer our children.

This event asks that we consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around.

Building walking into their daily routine has a favorable impact on a student’s cognitive and academic performance whilst lowering the risk of chronic diseases such as mental illness, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The Hodgman Liberal Government encourages parents and carers to walk more, reducing traffic congestion around schools and better use of public transport.

If regularly walking the whole way to school is not possible, we encourage stopping a few blocks away and to walk the rest of the way to school.

The walk safely to school event helps to teach children healthy walking habits and safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.

It also supports our Healthy Tasmania Strategy to reduce Tasmania’s rate of obesity to below the national average and to have the healthiest population in the nation by 2025.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary, schools have also been encouraged to host a healthy breakfast on Friday 17 May in conjunction with their local supermarket. A menu, endorsed by Dr Rosemary Stanton, is available at www.walk.com.au

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