[Music plays] (Prof. Grant Brinkworth) The obesity epidemic in Australia is a major health issue. One-third of children and two-thirds of Australian adults are considered either overweight or obese. (Dr Pennie Taylor) Obesity is an issue because it actually increases our risk of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes. (Prof. Grant Brinkworth) Poor dietary choices is consuming too many energy dense, nutrient poor, discretionary junk foods which are high in added sugars, salts and saturated fat.
(Dr Pennie Taylor) Our community at the moment are faced with this overwhelming amount of information around diet and exercise and lifestyle and it’s been coming at a rate of knots where people aren’t being able to interpret what is the right information and what’s not. So, what we’re wanting to do is actually get through to that evidenced based information that we know what works for people.
(Prof. Grant Brinkworth) Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are major national health challenges and CSIRO’s mandate is to develop solutions and strategies to tackle our major national issues. (Dr Pennie Taylor) So, what we did a few years ago is we actually ran a clinical trial and we looked at the effects of our dietary pattern on people living with Type 2 Diabetes. (Prof. Grant Brinkworth) The CSIRO Low Carb Diet is an effective eating plan that’s lower in carbohydrate, higher in protein and healthy fats, that is shown to be effective for sustained long term weight loss, improved blood glucose control, as well as reduce diabetes medication requirements.
(Dr Pennie Taylor) So, what we’re doing is partnering with Australian food manufacturers and retail outlets to put these foods into environments where they’re easy to access. So, the CSIRO Impact Mark is a trademark for CSIRO that we are putting on some pre-prepared meals that fit within the construct of the CSIRO Low Carb Diet. (Prof. Grant Brinkworth) We’ve also translated these scientific principles into an easy step-by-step guide book series to ensure that everyone can have access to this scientific research and gain the health benefits. (Dr Pennie Taylor) We do know exercise is really important just for mental health. But also for Type 2 Diabetes, when you’re exercising you’re getting your muscles working and what that helps to do is actually pull out the glucose from your blood and use it through to your muscles. So, you’re burning up appropriate energy. (Prof. Grant Brinkworth) Rigorous clinical trials at CSIRO have shown that this plan can be used as a long-term solution to achieve sustained weight loss as well as improvements in blood glucose control and is not just a short term fix. [Music plays].
