Preventative health, with its longer term population-based strategies to promote wellness and prevent disease, is often overlooked by both policy makers and a public more focused on personalised primary care and hospital services. This is reflected in the level of expenditure on preventative health activities in Australia—just 2 per cent of total health expenditure. Yet, approximately 32 per cent of Australia’s total burden of disease can be attributed to modifiable risk factors that include smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and blood cholesterol, low consumption of fruits and vegetables and overweight and obesity. It is now widely recognised that in order to stem the growth of chronic diseases, the major risk factors that contribute to them must be addressed.
