The state of the health system is on many Queenslanders' minds as they head to the ballot box in October, with politicians regularly trading blows about ambulance ramping, elective surgery waiting lists, and maternity care.
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00:00At 200 schools across Queensland, a quiet revolution is growing.
00:22Children are getting their hands dirty to learn about healthy food.
00:26It's a worm, it's a worm house.
00:30The state-funded Pick of the Crop program is getting them eating more fruit and veggies.
00:35It's the most important thing that we can possibly do to set them up well is to ensure
00:41that they have a healthy weight so that they can get stuck into life without any sort of
00:47barriers.
00:49The stakes are high, with a sobering number of Queensland children now considered overweight
00:55or obese.
00:56It's one in three kids, or just about one in three, so it's actually getting worse.
01:02At Marsden State School, the program is having an impact, shaping what's offered in the tuck
01:08shop and influencing decisions made at home.
01:12And the way children come to school with their lunch boxes better packed, with better choices
01:17in foods and more green choices.
01:20It's also a place of respite.
01:22You can just come here and it's nice and calm.
01:24I can learn how to grow them if I want to later on in my life.
01:30Australia has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world.
01:35A Queensland child born this decade could lose up to five years from their life expectancy
01:40if obesity rates aren't reversed.
01:42Jack Petrou has type 2 diabetes.
01:45Alright, ready, set, go.
01:50The father of three watched his own dad lose toes because of the so-called lifestyle disease.
01:59He's determined to break the cycle, with the help of the Logan Healthy Living Clinic.
02:04That's really good.
02:05How are you feeling?
02:06After a free eight-week course focused on exercise and healthy eating, the 41-year-old
02:12has improved on every measure.
02:15At this point, you're going to be doing really, really well and coming off those medication
02:19Well, it's a goal, right?
02:21Yeah, well done.
02:23Five years ago, the Labor government established the agency running both of these programs
02:28with strong bipartisan support from the LNP.
02:32Whoever takes the helm of a health system under growing pressure will need to focus
02:37on preventing illness in the first place.
02:40For me, the most important thing is to set up a health system based on this, based on health.
02:49For more information, visit www.fema.gov